The Second Taile
by sofia815
Summary: It’s hard to be a regular person when your father, the greatest ninja in the world, and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you’re also a hanyou. Pre Shippuden.
1. Chapter 1

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.

* * *

**

"Damn it! Naruto, you brat, you better still be alive when I get there… or… you just better be alive!" An old white haired man with face paint and a wart on his nose was dashing through the trees at an unimaginable pace. If you weren't a ninja that is. Even still, the speed was quite fast for a 60+ year old ninja… and that was because he was Jiraiya, the legendary frog sannin… and because he was finally going to find his long lost student, Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto Uzumaki was born in Konoha-Gakure. He was hated by the village because he was the 'container' of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He acted like an idiot so the villagers would pay attention to him, even though it mostly hatred. He vowed that one day he would be Hokage- the strongest ninja in the village- but when he failed a mission he got rid of that vow.

The mission was to retrieve Sasuke, a fellow ninja, who went AWOL. Naruto, along with four other ninja, had tried their best against enemy ninja… but they failed. Two of the ninja were slightly wounded. The other two however, they were lucky to live. Naruto was not so lucky when he was excused from the hospital.

The hatred of the villagers grew; they blamed him for their precious Sasuke's betrayal, until Naruto could no longer stand it. He started to return the hatred, he didn't need the village and they sure didn't need him. He made a new vow, he wouldn't be the Hokage- he would be the strongest ninja in the _world_.

He left with Jiraiya to train. Those who cared about him (which was very few) thought it would be a good break… but when he left Jiraiya they started to worry. Naruto traveled the world, learning new techniques and jutsus, becoming stronger. He left breadcrumbs for his old teacher; enough to lead him on but too few to actually catch up. It wasn't until Naruto had turned 18 did the world recognize him as greatest ninja ever; it made tracking him easier… until he had disappeared again.

Now Jiraiya was on the hunt again, having been 'on the hunt' for more than 10 years. His sources had told him that his student was in the Land of the Spirits… a place that normal humans were forbidden from entering. But Jiraiya would follow, find, and bring back Naruto, hopefully. The Land of the Spirits was a place for drifting souls, summons, and demons. And Naruto was in the Village of the Kitsune, the most powerful demon village.

"Hyperactive brat better be alive!" Jiraiya's pace slowed down as he neared the demon village. The youkai, demon energy, was strong, and the air seemed heavy. He pushed on though, he was so close.

The Kitsune Village looked very similar to Konoha: same high wall, similar building structure, and the same mountain on the far side of the village. But the wall was of _living_ trees, the buildings looked as if they were part of a forest, and the mountain had a carving of a nine-tailed fox instead of the faces of people.

Jiraiya stopped at the gate, surprised there were no guards. He was even more shocked when two foxes had transformed into human-like beings. When they let him inside, however, he was stupefied. "Why?" he asked them.

"Naruto-sama, was expecting you to come eventually." The fox demons stated before the gate opened and they turned back into fox-form.

The road led straight to a large crowd of kitsunes, in their human and in their fox form. On a stage were four people: an elderly kitsune holding a crying baby, and a young couple who were dead. The young man being Naruto.

The revelation of Naruto's death would have been enough to make the mighty sannin faint; if the heavy youkai hadn't gotten to him first.

* * *

The elderly ninja eyes opened, to see the face of an elderly fox. Jiraiya looked around the room, besides the bed he was on there was a table and a chair. The kitsune changed into her human form and sat down. "This was his room. That is why you are awake." The old kitsune sighed, "He expected you to be here a few months ago… it must have been horrible to come expecting Naruto-sama, only to find him and Ichiko-hime dead."

The human did not respond, only moving so that he was sitting instead of lying down.

"I forgot, you do not know about Ichiko-hime either. He did say that he hadn't seen you in more than 10 years… but to us demons that is such a short amount of time. Perhaps I should start with when he got here, we do have many hours to wait." She said in her old, wavering voice.

"For what?" Jiraiya asked quietly, his past decade of life now rendered useless.

"For the child; but that much more recently in the story… I shall start with a few years back. When Naruto-sama came to us." The kitsune began the story, as she was reading it from a book.

* * *

_Naruto-sama was a strong human. Not only was he able to withstand the youkai he was able to defeat many of our strongest warriors without killing them. Instead of conquering our village like we had feared he asked if we could help him. _

_It had surprised our leader Shippou-sama, for he believed such a strong ninja would not need our help. That was until he showed us the seal on his stomach. Naruto-sama was the jinchuuriki of our lord, Kyuubi no Kitsune. _

_Unlike the hatred that we knew he feared when he came, we treated him with utmost respect. He also received the interest of Ichiko-hime, our First Princess. As time went on interest turned into affection, and they were married, despite him being human. 'Things happened' and Ichiko-hime was pregnant._

_Naruto-sama didn't know, but when a demon gives birth she must exchange her life for the baby's to maintain balance. When dealing with a hanyou, however, matters are different. _

_When the child was born Ichiko-hime had died in front of Naruto-sama's eyes. Even with the exchange of lives, the baby was starting to die… so Naruto-sama gave up his life for his child's. He didn't want to live without his wife or child; he gave the child his soul, not knowing what the consequences would be.

* * *

_

"He, along with our lord Kyuubi-sama, was sealed inside of the baby hanyou." The old woman finished her story, tears streaming down her cheeks. Jiraiya's face stayed dry, trained as a shinobi of Konoha, but he was crying on the inside.

The door clocked open, and a younger nurse kitsune held a small blanket covered bundle. She carefully gave the bundle to Jiraiya, who held the baby just as carefully. A blond head popped out and blue eyes smiled at the old man.

"She resembles her father… doesn't she?" The elder kitsune stated more than asked, delighted when ninja smiled back at the baby. "What will you name her?"

"Natsuko, because she is like the summer sun." It was cheesy, but he meant it… a child of Naruto, demon or not, was going to be special.

* * *

"Come on Ji-sama! Hurry, hurry!" A blonde girl was running circles around an old man.

"Natsuko, we do this every year… I'm not going to move any faster with you doing that." Jiraiya had become much, _much, _more responsible ever since the discovering death of Naruto and that he had to raise the young hanyou.

* * *

"_Why do I have to take her? Doesn't she have relatives here?" Jiraiya asked the elderly kitsune. The baby had been taken away to be prepared for the journey to the Human Land._

"_You must take her because she is a hanyou. If a hanyou is kept in a place too long with too much youkai their demon side will take over their body and their human side will be destroyed. If they are raised in the human world, however, their human side will have control while their demon side is merely asleep. You are the closest human relative to Natsuko-hime, therefore you must take her." The kitsune explained, making hand gestures to further the explanation._

"_Just me? There are others who care about Naruto." Jiraiya tried to wheedle his way out of it. If Naruto had directly asked for it then he wouldn't say no, but Jiraiya wasn't exactly a good father figure._

"_Naruto-sama gave instructions for the raising of his child if he was ever incapable of raising her himself. We changed it since she is a hanyou, but it still follows his original plan. 'When my child lives in the Land of the Humans she will be under the teaching of Iruka-sensei, Tsunade-baa-chan, or Ero-sannin. Wait, maybe not Iruka-sensei since he probably still lives in that damned Konoha. So, maybe just Tsunade-baa-chan or Ero-sannin… if they're not in that stupid village. If ever my child has to go to Konoha-Gakure then I want him/her to be at least a jounin level at the age most are a genin so that he/she can prove to those-' oh dear… he really does despise that village doesn't he?" The fox demon skipped over the many foul words describing the Konoha villagers before she continued reading._

"_Ah, here we go! '- villagers that it is not about what you are, but who you become. For a month or so, the child shall return to Kitsune-Gakure to learn how to control his/her demon side. And if Tsunade-baa-chan or Ero-sannin is reading this then you better fix up your act 'cuz if my kid is a pervert, drunk, or a horrible gambler I'm going to… to… do really bad things.' We will take the child for a month, after her birth-month. Be careful with what you do with her, we have eyes and ears everywhere."

* * *

_

"Ji-sama, I can see them!" Natsuko ran behind her uncle-figure and started pushing; it was very strong for a 6 year old.

"All right, it is bad to rush an old man. You go ahead." Jiraiya smiled when he saw the two figures. Even though he loved the little girl he needed a break.

The little girl ran ahead, only stopping to pet a fox near the road. "Ba-sama! Nee-sama!" She ran straight at the older woman and hugged her, though Natsuko's face was only at the woman's stomach.

Jiraiya caught up to the three women, catching his breath. "Tsunade-chan. Shizune-chan."

"Jiraiya… I guess it is our turn to watch over Natsuko?" The blonde woman said, "I see she already has her first stripe."

"She prefers to call it a whisker." Jiraiya looked at Natsuko, an out of place red stripe on her right cheek.

"Stripe and whiskers; this thing on her face? What is it supposed to be?" Shizune, Tsunade's student, asked. She was not allowed to enter the Kitsune Village when Natsuko turned one, so she didn't know.

"It marks her strength as a ninja," Tsunade explained, holding Natsuko's face in her hands, "One stripe means genin, two means chuunin, three is jounin, four is ANBU, five is Kage, and six… she'll be as strong as her father."

"Stronger, actually." Jiraiya corrected, patting the top of Natsuko's head.

Natsuko shook her head free and scowled, "I'm not a baby, or a puppy." She fingered her stripe,

"I'm going to be the strongest ninja _ever_, even better than Tou-sama!" She vowed, just like her father did before her. "Then, when I'm strong enough, I'm going to prove Konoha wrong!" She really was just like her father.

* * *

**Naruto Words:**

**Ninja: yeah, you should already know what that is...**

**Sannin: a group of three ninja that Jiraiya and Tsunade were a part of**

**Konoha-Gakure: Hidden Village of the Leaf**

**Kyuubi no Kitsune: Nine-Tailed Fox Demon**

**Hokage: literally 'Fire Shadow'**

**Jutsu: a ninja skill or trick that involves hand seals**

**Youkai: demon energy, kind of like aura**

**Kitsune: fox, usually for demon foxes though**

**Hanyou: half-demon, usually half human half demon **

**Jinchuuriki: literally 'human sacrifice' but is what the containers of the demons are called**

**Shinobi: another word for ninja**

**Sensei: teacher**

**Genin: lowest level of ninja**

**Chuunin: in-between level of ninja**

**Jounin: high level of ninja**

**Kage: strongest ninja in the ninja villages**

**Ero: perverted

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**

**Family words and suffixes: **

**(O) Ji: uncle**

**(O) Ba: aunt**

**(O) Baa: grandma**

**(O) Tou: father**

**-sama: very high respect... can be similar to Master or Mistress**

**-hime: Princess**

**-chan: for familiar or younger females and little children

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**

**A/N: First Naruto fic ever! This idea has been annoying me since ever! So I decided to right it… review please… flames are okay too!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

**teen13**

**Kiminaru**

**Animelovr07**

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"_You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune. A monster."_

"_Demon brat."_

"_You are worthless."_

"_Everyone hates you!"_

"_He will never be a ninja."_

"_Get away from me!"_

"_You're a failure."_

"_This is all your fault."_

"_We should've killed him when we had the chance."_

"_I will not become the Hokage. I will be the best ninja in the world. I, Naruto Uzumaki, will show them all!"_

"**_KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!"

* * *

_**

A scream pierced through the night, destroying the calm silence of the forest. A scared nine year old was sitting upright on the ground, her face covered in sweat. The older two females moved from their places to comfort the girl.

"Natsuko-chan, what's wrong?" Shizune asked the blonde, brushing the golden locks out of the child's face. "Did you have a nightmare again?"

Natsuko nodded her head.

"What was it about?" Shizune asked again. Out of the three she was the most caring: Tsunade hardened after the death of her son-figure and Natsuko more concerned about getting stronger.

Natsuko turned to face the eldest woman, ignoring the question asked. "Who is Naruto Uzumaki?"

The normally cold-hearted woman had shock written all over her face. Her brown eyes widened, revealing hurt and regret. It took her a while to compose herself, by then Shizune had already started to make tea.

"Naruto… Uzumaki… it has been so long since I have said that name." Tsunade started, willing herself not to start crying. "Why do you ask?"

"My nightmare, voices were saying mean things to him. They called him a failure, a monster even… but they also called him Kyuubi no Kitsune. Then he said he wouldn't be Hokage-"

"He would be the best ninja in the world-"

"_I, Naruto Uzumaki, will show them all!_" Natsuko interrupted Tsunade's interruption. "Why did I dream this, Ba-sama?"

"His vow, it is just like yours isn't it?" The female sannin would answer questions with questions, she wouldn't give straight answers. There was no use in giving the hanyou too much information.

"But why do they call him a kitsune if he is human? And of all kitsunes, why Kyuubi-sama?" She asked again, even though she had two stripes already, she lacked the wisdom to match the skills.

"Don't they teach you history in Kitsune-Gakure?" Tsunade accepted the tea cup that Shizune quietly offered. It was a better beverage than sake and it helped make her look younger.

"The Shippou-jii-sama said that Kyuubi-sama disappeared about three decades ago to find a human. He also said that you or Ji-sama would tell me the rest when I was ready."

"I'm going to tell you a story ok? Come over here by the fire." The campfire's light flickered over Tsunade's face as Natsuko scooted next to her.

"Naruto Uzumaki was a ninja of Konoha-Gakure…" Tsunade started the story to the said ninja's oblivious daughter. She extracted any hints that would make the two's relationship known. When the older blonde finished the story she looked down to check on the chuunin-leveled girl and was surprised to see Natsuko crying. "Natsuko-chan, what's wrong?"

"He ha-has it so b-bad, and for him- for him to b-be so strong… he must be amazing!" Her sobbing had ceased as her determination grew, "I'll show Konoha and that Sasuke-teme, I'll show them for both me and Naruto-sama!" She had unknowingly called Sasuke the same way her father had many years before.

"Naruto was indeed amazing," Tsunade let a small smile slip out before she returned to her usual cold self. "Go to sleep now, Natsuko, we're going to train you some more on my techniques tomorrow and you will need all the energy you can get."

* * *

"**_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_**!" Natsuko barked out, her hands forming the seals for the technique. In a puff of smoke an exact replica of herself stood before

"Okay, now send chakra to your hands, enough so that you can see it." Tsunade commanded the eager student. "Control your chakra, Natsuko; you should be able to form it around your hands."

"I'm trying." The hanyou said through gritted teeth. Though she had more than enough chakra to do the jutsu her control was horrible therefore the chakra was being wasted. Instead of forming a layer of chakra around her hands, the energy would fly around. "**_Ranshinsho_**!"

She reached out towards her clone and gripped the neck; it glowed with leftover chakra before it faded inside. Then she performed seals to control the invading chakra.

"Wave your arms around please." Natsuko asked the clone cheering when instead it collapsed on the ground.

"I think it worked." The clone said, muffled by the ground.

"Not yet, it did work… but it's not perfect. Do it agai-"

"Breakfast time!" Shizune exclaimed happily, interrupting Tsunade.

"Good, because I'm hungry!" Natsuko got rid of her clone and dashed toward the food similar to the way Naruto ran for ramen.

* * *

"That was… acceptable progress today, Natsuko." Tsunade said in a monotone voice. Despite her statement, on the inside, she was amazed at how far the child had gotten with the jutsu. It was an A-class jutsu that only they could do properly. Sure, it was not as perfect as Tsunade's but it was much better than Shizune's and Sakura's attempt.

Sakura… it had also been a long time since that name had turned up. Tsunade had high hopes for that girl, but when she turned against Naruto for Sasuke… Let's just say it was another reason Tsunade had resigned as Hokage and left Konoha.

"Ba-sama? Ba-sama, are you okay?" Natsuko waved a hand in front of the spaced out ninja.

"Hm? Oh, repeat that again." Tsunade cleared her thoughts; there was no time to think about backstabbing people when she had a child to raise.

"Nee-sama said that we were going to Wave Country tomorrow. Will we pass by Tsunami-Gakure?" Natsuko repeated slowly, as if talking to a small child.

"Yes, we will… I suppose we could see if you can train there. I guess." Tsunade was not expecting the loud shout and the tight hug that followed.

* * *

"Wave country is so beautiful; home of the most beautiful beaches and the world's best ice cream!" Shizune exclaimed, looking around at the village's sights.

Since the finishing of the Great Naruto Bridge, Wave country (though small) became one of the richest countries in the world thanks to its great trade systems. And because of Wave's success, many jealous countries tried to sabotage. In order to protect their work Inari, _the_ Tazuna's grandson, founded Tsunami-Gakure (a ninja village). The village was co-founded by Naruto during his travels.

"It is also home of many rare medicinal herbs that we are here to gather in the first place." Tsunade included; dragging her food obsessed student and her pet pig Tonton away from the ice cream booths. "Shizune, in a little bit, take Natsuko and ask Inari-kun if he could train her while we are here. I must attend to some business." She instructed her student before disappearing in a swirl of wind and leaves.

"Natsuko-chan, please, please, please let me buy ice cream!" Shizune and the little pig in her arms pleaded once they made sure her teacher was far enough. To play the pity card even further they made their eyes as big as human/pig-ly possible.

Natsuko sighed; usually it was Shizune being the level-headed one… until it came to food. She really didn't understand how the older woman could eat so much food and still be so skinny.

"Fine," Natsuko fished out enough money from the wallet for two ice creams and handed it to Shizune, "I'm going to explore, okay? I'll meet you in…" She trailed off, her 'older sister' already in line for ice cream.

* * *

"I can't train a random kunoichi just because you are the Legendary Tsunade Sannin. If I did that for every 'legendary' ninja then all of my village's secret techniques wouldn't be so secret." Inari, the ninja not the rice spirit, responded to Tsunade's requests. He sat in a chair behind a large desk covered in towers of paperwork.

"It is Naruto's daughter." Her voice was cold and accusing, "Would you deny your hero's only child because it would reveal secret jutsus that _he_ taught you?"

"Naruto-nii doesn't have a child." Inari stubbornly disagreed.

"How would you know? It's been 12 years since he has contacted you, and his daughter is only 9 years old. Just look at her! You will see that she is his daughter, _she_ _is._" Tsunade pointed out the office window towards the blonde, blue-eyed shinobi in a bright yellow and orange outfit. Natsuko was wandering around the streets keeping an eye on Shizune.

"She looks the part, that's for sure; I don't know any other sane ninja who would wear such bright colors. But that _could_ just be a trick. I'll watch her, and if she seems to be Naruto's daughter then I will train her myself. But if she isn't then, I'm sorry I can not." The Tsunami leader stood by the window watching the girl who was claimed to be the successor of his hero.

"There is a small catch though, Inari-kun. She doesn't know the truth about her father." Tsunade covered her ears as a loud 'what' was heard throughout the village.

* * *

Natsuko had already wandered to the darker side of the village when she heard whimpering and several bullying voices. She followed the sounds to find three teenagers beating up a little boy younger than herself in a dirty alley.

"Hey, what are you doing? Stop that!" Natsuko yelled at them. The teenagers looked over their shoulder for a moment before returning to their bullying. "I said STOP!" The nine year old stood in between the little boy and his harassers.

The three of them stopped, knowing they would get in trouble for hurting a foreigner. "Listen brat," The tallest of them began, "we are Tsunami-Gakure's genin. We're just taking care of some… trash. Now get out of the way." He tried to push Natsuko out of the way only to find his wrist caught by her hand.

"The only trash I see here are a couple of pathetic Tsunami genin. If you're looking for a fight then bring it." Natsuko went into a fighting stance, her hand gesturing for them to come forward.

"You're going to regret this, brat." Their egos were wounded and they no longer cared if she was a foreigner or not. The three of them rushed at her, two trying to punch her while the third tried to sweep her feet from under her.

Natsuko jumped up to avoid the kick and leaned backwards to avoid the punches which turned into back-handspring. She landed by the wide-eyed little victim, picked him up and placed him on top of a large safe-looking crate.

The battle continued with the genins using all types of jutsu against her while Natsuko just used taijutsu. Despite them outnumbering her it was easy to say that Natsuko was winning and bored.

She was about to simply knock them unconscious when one of the genin aimed a kunai at the original enemy. Natsuko disappeared in a blur only to reappear in front of the little boy holding the thrown kunai. "You should not have done that," She squeezed the kunai, "Now you will face my wrath." The kunai shattered into a million pieces as the genin's faces paled.

"Let's get out of here!" The leader yelled as they turned to escape the hanyou. They were almost at the end of the alley when a blur of yellow appeared before them.

Chakra covered her hands as she reached out towards them, "**_Ranshinsho_**!" Natsuko yelled as she touched each of their necks, leaving some of her chakra with them. It seemed that at touch they fell to the floor, their body parts twitching on their own accord.

"You monster! What did you do to us!" The leader bellowed as his left leg flailed around.

"I messed up your brain's movement signals so if you want to move one part of your body another part moves instead. Fortunately for you I haven't perfected it so it isn't permanent. Have fun figuring it out." Natsuko picked up the child from the place she sat him and started to walk away. She turned around and added, "I'll tell Inari-sama what you were doing to this chibi. According to Tsunami-Gakure's rules, you will be punished." She blurred away again, unaware that someone was watching the little battle.

"Well, she's not as loud and annoying as Naruto-nii was… but whether she is his child or not I will train her. Now then," Inari looked up from the crystal ball, "about those genins…"

* * *

"Chibi-chan, what is your name?" Natsuko asked the little boy in her arms. After finding Shizune and Tonton, who had long since finished their ice cream and were begging her for more, she began a questionnaire with the child.

The purple-eyed child didn't answer, only squirmed to get out of her arms and on the ground.

"How old are you?" Natsuko set him down and patted his silver head. He held out four fingers on one hand while he grabbed Natsuko's hand with his other.

"Four, no wonder why you are so small. Can you talk?" She wanted to know why the very young wouldn't say anything.

He nodded his head; oh, great, he was an anti-social four year old.

"Natsuko-chan, we're here." Shizune said, making Natsuko look up at the tower. "Tsunami-Gakure's government building."

Natsuko again picked up the little boy, against his silent protests. The two females sped up; one excited about training and the other wanting to finish the day with ice cream.

* * *

"You would think that after being the Shodai of a ninja village for 15 years I would get used to people randomly appearing in my office." Inari scolded himself, glaring at Shizune and Natsuko who were still giggling. His reaction to the sudden appearance to both of Tsunade's students was too hilarious to keep a straight face.

Natsuko was the first to stop laughing when she remembered the boy in her arms. "Ah! I found this chibi in an alley being-"

"Bullied by three of our genin. I'm sorry you had to see that. They will be punished; we have no use for ninjas like that." Inari interrupted then motioned for her to continue talking.

"What is his name? I only figured out that he was four years old, and that he won't talk." Natsuko set the mysterious toddler on the ground.

"He has no name. His parents died when he was born. So no he has no name." Inari said sadly, with a hint of guilt in his eyes.

"He is also… different. His wounds, they had already healed by the time I started the fight; he is the Ichibi, right?" Natsuko asked; there was just something so familiar about the tyke. And as a hanyou she was expected to know the history of the important demons.

"Well, we _could_ name him that… it would be easier to call him that instead of _him _or _that boy_. But, it would give away that he is the jinchuuriki for the Suna no Shukaku. Maybe you should give him a name, he seems to like you." Inari petted the silver head as he waited for his future name.

"Ichiyo; one life. It's similar to Ichibi, but it won't give him away." Natsuko kneeled down in front of Ichiyo and hugged him, "How do you like that Ichiyo-chan?"

"Ichiyo; it is an okay name," Inari answered for the child. "Now that the business with Ichiyo has been sorted I'm supposed to train you. We will begin tomorrow at six in the morning. Be in this room before then." Natsuko bowed at Inari and ruffled Ichiyo's hair before she left, leaving Shizune alone in the process.

* * *

Seven months of training later, the three foreign kunoichi stood in Inari's office along with Ichiyo and the leader of Tsunami himself.

"You have learned all the jutsus, techniques, and fighting styles that are unique to Tsunami-Gakure. I cannot teach you anymore, Natsuko." Inari sat in his chair studying the child of Tsunami's co-Shodai. Not only had she _learned_ all of Tsunami's secrets she had _perfected_ them all.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Inari-sama." Shizune said as the three of them bowed.

Natsuko hid her face behind her blonde hair. She would be sad to leave; it was fun to play with Ichiyo and to listen to stories of her father. During the time she had even taught Ichiyo to talk.

Inari walked over and put a hand on the hanyou's shoulder. "When you become the best ninja in the world I expect some credit, you hear?" A smile was on his face as he cheered her up.

A bright smile was returned as Natsuko hugged him. "Nii-sama, make sure Ichiyo-chan becomes the second best ninja okay? Then maybe I'll consider thanking you." She said mock arrogantly.

"Natsuko-nee can't visit?" Ichiyo asked his, now, five year old face in pout-mode.

"Nope, but when you become strong enough maybe we'll meet again. Be the best in the academy, and become a Tsunami genin… and maybe you'll be the one to find me. Promise me you'll try your hardest?" Natsuko shook her head and held out her pinky which the little boy took. "I'll see you someday. Goodbye!"

Natsuko and Shizune blurred away while Tsunade paused, "Payment for the training will come in-"

Inari held his hand up to stop her, "No payment. I will never be able to pay back my debt to Naruto… what is a few jutsus versus an entire life? I hope she will be happy, may she have a better life than her father."

"I hope she does too." Tsunade nodded before following her students. It was time to return to Kitsune-Gakure, time for the hanyou to return home.

* * *

**New Naruto Words:**

**-teme: A suffix that means 'you' in a very mean way but is sometimes translated as either 'B'-words**

**Kunoichi: a female ninja**

**Shodai: the founder of a ninja village**

**Kunai: A knife-like ninja weapon that can be used for throwing**

**(O) Nii: older brother**

**(O) Nee: older sister**

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Naruto's signature jutsu. Literally means "Shadow Clone technique"**

**Ranshinsho: One of Tsunade's original jutsus. Literally means "Important Body Points Disturbance"**

**Ichibi/Suna no Shukaku: The one-tail or the Shukaku of the Sand. It was Gaara, and the reason why it isn't anymore will be explained later on.

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**

**A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter… I'm sorry if it's too long… read and review! Tell me what I can do better!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

**MagusKyros**

**silver windflame**

**I'm so happy, I love my stats for this story… anyways, here's the story!

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**

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"A kitsune's tails are its most important body part. The number of tails it has determines the strength of that particular kitsune but it is also its weakness. Be more graceful, Natsuko." A young-looking man in a turquoise kimono lectured from the shore of a river. _On the river_ was a blonde eleven year old struggling to control the fire and water circling her. 

"Shippou-jii-sama, it is difficult to do this in such an outfit." Natsuko dropped her arms, the elements dropping as well, and pointed at her attire. She wore a very pretty yellow kimono with a pattern of red flowers and a red obi; she was even wearing matching geta! It was an outfit a person would wear to a special occasion, not for training… unless Shippou was your teacher.

"I did not tell you to stop. If you feel like talking so much then why don't you recite the lesson on Divine Attacks? All of them." The Kitsune-Gakure leader did not ask her. He had amber colored hair in a ponytail. Seven fluffy matching tails peaked out from his kimono, each swaying on their own accord. Shippou knew he was being strict, bordering on mean even, but he had to train the hanyou… and train her he would.

"Those who are born of spirit blood can control, to some extent, the elements. There are eight elements in the Divine Attacks: Fire, Earth, Thunder, Plant, Water, Air, Light, and Dark." The blonde recited, once again having fire, water, and air surround her. She made them flow together, keeping the fire and water separate and trying to be graceful. "Although the elements will not harm a person of spirit blood to harness their power for your own takes skill."

Natsuko continued on, now she was dancing across the river, making sure to keep the elements in a continuous circle around her.

"Fire is known for its tremendous power and energy and is mostly for offensive attacks. The element Fire has a bond with all kitsunes which allows me, even though I am only half, to control it with ease.

Earth is known for its strong defensive abilities that can cancel out almost all of the other elements. Earth takes great experience to control and since I only have two whiskers I am not strong enough to use it.

Thunder is similar to Fire but takes exact control. Thunder has an increase of speed and strength. But it is also much harder to use repeatedly in combat.

Plant is the only of the elements that can speak. The Plant will have much wisdom at that age and extra chakra. Plant is known for its healing abilities rather than fighting abilities.

Water is equally an offensive and defensive element. Water is the most tolerant to humans, resulting in my controlling Water without too much effort.

Air is the friendliest element. Most creatures of spirit blood can control Air to some extent.

Light, one of the youngest elements, has offensive, defensive, and healing abilities. It can reflect back any attack as long as it is not Dark.

Dark, one of the youngest elements, has offensive, defensive, and healing abilities. It can absorb the energy of any attack as long as it is not Light."

Natsuko finished, juggling three of the elements without touching them.

"You left out many words, but the point is still there. You are done with this training exercise now; let us go back to the village to work on your combat skills." Shippou waited for her as she dropped the element orbs she had been playing with and waddled over to the land. "No, you do not have to wear the kimono in battle." The kitsune answered her silent question and chuckled when she attempted to jump for joy.

"That sounds good… but… Can we have lunch first?" Natsuko asked her stomach grumbled in agreement.

* * *

"That's her, right? The kitsune hanyou." A deep voiced shadow watched the kitsune pair by the river. 

"Yes, but that is Kitsune's leader with her. It will be difficult to get rid of him." Another shadow, with a higher voice responded.

"He is not invincible like that Kyuubi was, and even he was defeated by a human. Perhaps though, we should wait until the girl is alone… it would be easier to kidnap her then." The deep voice turned to look at higher voice.

"She is the daughter of their princess and the Uzumaki human… do not underestimate her, Nii-san." The younger brother warned his older.

"I won't, you shouldn't either." Though older, the elder was smaller than his brother.

"I know."

* * *

Right punch. 

Duck. Sweeper kick.

Jump. Claws.

"Not fair!" Natsuko protested as her opponent slowed to a stop, his claws almost touching her face. "Shippou-jii-sama! Kurama-san is using his claws again!"

"Stop whining, in a real battle your enemy isn't going to wait while you complain about lack of justice." Kurama rolled his eyes as he pulled his claws back.

"Well this isn't a real battle. If it were then I would have used some Divine Attacks and won by now." Natsuko retorted. Kurama was the only one she argued with in the village. That was because he was the youngest kitsune at an age of 54 years even though he looked only 12.

"Natsuko, Kurama is right. It is not wise to stop in the middle of combat, whatever the case may be. And Kurama, you agreed to the terms of the match. No claws and no Divine Attacks, just basic fighting." Shippou rubbed his temples and sighed, "I want both of you to recite the history of Vulpix of Fire while running around the village 1000 times."

Both of the 'preteens' started to grumble, blaming each other.

"Both of you with weights. Kurama, in your fox form." He revised the punishment… it was always fun to torture- I mean train them.

The grumbling became even louder as Kurama transformed and Natsuko put on the heavy weights. They set off on their race around the demon village, each trying to go faster than the other.

"Are you sure you should let the two of them out there when we _know_ there are two enemies out there." A guard kitsune tapped his leader's shoulder and asked hesitantly.

"It will be good… training." The fox demon chuckled evilly, his tails swishing about excited.

"Yes, Shippou-sama."

* * *

"Hey, Kurama?" Natsuko panted out, not even bothering with the –san. 

"What?" The Kurama Fox yipped back, his small legs getting tired.

"How many more laps do you think we have left?" Natsuko asked, they had long since finished reciting the story of Vulpix of Fire and were now concentrating on not collapsing in the middle of the forest.

"I thought you were counting!" The small fox stopped and changed back into his 'human' form. He lay on the ground panting heavily; he was too tired to even lift his beloved red hair off the ground.

Natsuko stopped too and leaned against a nearby tree. She started to peel off the weights: one on each limb, the weighted jacket, and the very heavy belt. "I thought that you were!"

"Maybe we're done already. I mean, usually running laps doesn't make me this tired." Kurama said to the sky, the stars seemed to be laughing at him.

"Yeah, but usually he only makes us run 500. But, yeah, maybe we are done." Natsuko sat down beside him, to the relief of her pained feet.

"Actually, _we_ only counted 923." The two brother shadows said at the same time, revealing themselves to the tired out kitsunes.

"Damn it, stupid inugamis, no wonder why I'm so tired. What do you want?" Inugamis were one of the few demons that stood a chance against a kitsune because they were able to control the health of others.

Kurama attempted to stand up, but was only ably to prop himself up on his elbows. Natsuko succeeded in standing however and was already in a fighting stance.

"You are none of our business, _kitsune_. We want the hanyou." The elder brother spat at the red-head. "Oh, look Otouto, it looks like she wants to put up a fight."

"Please don't resist, Hanyou-chan. We don't want to hurt you." The younger brother, despite his statement, also went into a fighting stance along with his brother.

Natsuko said nothing. She walked over to the largest tree near her, which also happened to be the largest tree in the forest, laid a hand on its bark and closed her eyes. _'Excuse me, Tree-sama. Would you mind if I use you for a Divine Attack?'_ She asked the tree, as strange as it seems, but to use Divine Attack Plant a person must ask permission first.

'_You seem like an honorable kitsune-hanyou, and the elder inugami was going to cut down my children for what he thinks is fun. I will help you.'_

Natsuko opened her eyes and took a calming breath. **_"Divine Attack Plant"_** She saw through the eyes of the tree, and moved as she controlled it. A vine wrapped gently around Kurama and set him on a steady branch, healing him of the inugami's work.

Natsuko stared at her enemies and lashed out at them watching as they dodged the branches and vines she sent. The attacks were too slow and she was too inexperienced. She dropped the Divine Attack as the older brother sent a fire blast her way.

"Nii-san, we do not want to harm her!" The younger warned his elder while he scratched the jinchuuriki's arm with his claws.

"Otouto, you're being a hypocrite." He smirked; the hanyou stood no chance against the inugami brothers. Her Divine Attacks were weaker, she had no claws, and she was healing her fellow kitsune. He sent another set of fireballs at the young girl.

"I want to finish this, Nii-san; her price might lessen if she's too damaged." He waited for his brother's attack to clear before he started his own. He held the girl by the shoulder so she wouldn't dodge and clawed at her stomach. Hopefully it wouldn't be enough to kill her, just enough to knock her out… hopefully.

Natsuko's eyes widened out of surprise. Her stomach bled painfully, would she die? No, she can't die here… she had to keep going, she had a life to live… she had to get her third stripe… she had to make it to Konoha… she wouldn't die here. Then why was it getting so dark? She wouldn't die; she would not die. She would just rest and let her demon side take over.

"Otouto… I hope you didn't kill her." The elder stood next to the younger. He observed the hanyou; under the blood he saw a… swirl? A seal?

Neither expected the blonde girl to open her eyes. Neither expected those eyes to be red. And neither of them expected her to plunge her newly formed claws through the elder brother's chest.

The younger went to the side of his dying brother as he laid him gently on the floor. "I told you not to underestimate her." They knew the risks of their work, they had gotten cocky, and they would pay for it.

Natsuko dug her way through the younger brother's chest. Might as well have them both die the same way, next to each other.

"The hanyou brat got the better of us, Otouto. She didn't even use her human skills."

"She probably doesn't know how to. She probably doesn't even know that her father was that Uzumaki human."

Natsuko's demon eyes widened, Tou-sama was Naruto-sama? It was so obvious, how could she be so stupid?

"I guess you were right. She didn't know." They uttered out their last words of their life. They had no worries though; they would turn into ghosts and return to their village.

The shock would have been enough to change her back into her human self… if a pair of arms hadn't held her from behind. Shock forgotten she turned and clawed out, scratching the cheek of Kurama. He held on though, and laid his head on hers.

"Calm down Natsuko-hime. All will be made clear."

The darkness came again, but she wasn't scared. It would stop her from thinking… her father, Naruto Uzumaki, her village, kitsune, lies?

* * *

"She knows." It was Kurama's voice, but it was muffled. 

"I know." Ah, that was Shippou-jii-sama.

"Her demon side also-"

"I know." What did he know? Then again, what did _she _know?

Natsuko groaned, why did her head hurt so much? Her eyes opened. She was in her room, her father's previous room; with the kitsune she considered a friend and the kitsune who helped raised her since she was an orphan. Oh yeah, her parents… my father… those liars!

"Liars!" She yelled out, surprising the all three of them. "You know about my parents!"

"Natsuko-hime, please-" Kurama pleaded, gently pushing her back onto the bed.

"And what's this 'hime' crap about? I out to-" She growled, she would not be distracted by pretty words.

"Quiet." She silenced. "Your father was Naruto Uzumaki. Your mother was Ichiko Yoko, Our First Princess. They both died the day you were born because you are a hanyou." Shippou explained, not expecting the next question.

"Are you hiding anything else from me?"

"Yes," Kitsunes could not lie, "but you will be told when you are ready." But they _could _not tell the truth.

"So I'm a princess, right?" Natsuko asked softly as if tasting it on her tongue.

"Yes. By blood, you are a princess." Shippou nodded, wondering if she was going to start crying.

"Then," She paused, "Why the freak was I fighting those inugami's by myself! Wouldn't a princess have at least a freaking bodyguard or something?" She yelled frantically, waving her arms in the air.

"Well, you _do_ have one, but it seems like you're protecting _him_ instead of the other way around." Both participants in the conversation glared at Kurama. When he shamefully looked at the ground they stopped glaring. "About that, if this were to ever happen again all you have to do is summon us." A large scroll poofed next to the bed and unraveled itself as it waited for her signature.

"On one condition though," Natsuko drawled, surprising both kitsunes.

"What is it?" Shippou asked. This was an honor! There should be no _conditions_.

"Kurama has to get stronger. What's the point of summoning him if he's weaker than I am?" Natsuko giggled, she had hoped it would rile him up… to stop making him feel guilty.

"What are you talking about you brat? I am stronger than you, much stronger!" Yup, she was right.

Shippou let the two argue, his mind was on other things.

_"Are you hiding anything else from me?"_

_'__What would she do when she knows the **complete** truth about her father?__'_

* * *

**Naruto Words:**

**Kimono- a Japanese fancy outfit… robe… thing**

**Obi- the 'belt' part of a kimono**

**Geta- sandals for a kimono**

**Inugami- Dog spirit**

**Otouto- younger brother**

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**Natsuko Ideas:**

**Suffixes- She calls everyone who is stronger than her '-sama' because she was raised to be very respectful. Everyone else who is of equal of less strength she calls by '-san' unless it is Ichiyo from the previous chapter.**

**Land of Spirits- everything except for humans exist there so that means demons, summons, animals, ghosts, and gods are there. Hanyous are the 'unknown' since they have two minds/soul things.**

**Attacks- Divine Attacks are explained above; I got this idea from Beet the Vandel Buster so all those Beet fans… whoopee! She couldn't use any jutsus because human chakra is not used in the Land of Spirits.**

**Storyline- I wanted to show the growth of her having stripes. Since Naruto already had all six I wanted _her_ to develop _her_ stripes as a sign of strength. And since she was being trained by three different people might as well have one chapter for each of her teachers. Well, actually Jiraiya gets another one… kind of spoiled that… but oh well.**

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**A/N: Sorry it seems not as good (well at least I think so) I had the idea for the chapter then I was worried about length then there was the whole 'should I add more characters' and if she should kill and how she would react and... eh... Thank you for reading! Please review now… or now… or now… or… yeah you get the picture…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

**Naruto-Rawks**

**Moccamaster**

**saiyan prince1**

**Thanks for the advice and I'll try to update as soon as I can.**

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"Let's see… You've trained in Wave Country, Wind Country, Grass Country, Water Country, Thunder Country, Rain Country, Snow Country, Waterfall Country, even Earth Country. Those are a lot of countries, Natsuko… so then why do you still have two whiskers?" Jiraiya listed the countries off on his fingers and used the remaining finger to poke the hanyou.

"It's not my fault, Ji-sama, is it really this hard to become a jounin?" The blonde scowled and looked over the cliff. The sun was setting and the wet rocks glowed red. She would have said it was beautiful if Jiraiya hadn't previously pushed her off the cliff.

* * *

"_It is training, Natsuko, do not doubt my teaching skills." Jiraiya said leading the twelve-year-old to the edge of a cliff._

_Natsuko looked over the edge, "What am I supposed to do here?" She was about to turn around when all of a sudden Jiraiya's hand pushed her over._

"_Survive," was the answer._

"_Ji-sama, I hate you." Blue eyes widened as the walls of rock surrounded her. She couldn't hold on to the sides of the cliff, too wet; and those jagged rocks at the bottom weren't exactly comfortable._

_Jiraiya looked down after his only female student. "I think I forgot something." He muttered to himself. "Cliff, water, rocks, near death experience… what am I forgetting? Oh yeah! I haven't given her the Gama contract… oh, damn."_

"_**Divine Attack Air!"** A gust of wind circled around her and lifted her next to the muttering old man. "Ji-sama! I'm going to hurt you so bad!"_

* * *

Once Natsuko got rid of her anger and Jiraiya came out from his hiding spot they went over her training.

"Shippou-jii-sama sent a message last night. He says that I'm really close to my third whisker," Natsuko fingered the vacant spot on her cheek, "I just need one more push. And not a push off a cliff!"

"A message last night? Oh, through a fox?" Jiraiya asked; he was still unused to teaching Natsuko. She was female, she was a hanyou, and she still didn't know about the seal.

"Nope, dream. It's a kitsune thing." The half kitsune explained, "Anyways, he said maybe one powerful jutsu should do it. So… maybe you can teach me the Rasengan. Please?" Natsuko pleaded to her teacher. She had seen him use it once and immediately fell in love with it, but Jiraiya had refused to teach her since she was still at genin level.

"Well," Jiraiya turned his back on her and smirked as her pleading became more and more desperate, "I _guess_ I could teach it to you." He faced her again and put on a serious face, "But you must promise to use it _only_ on your enemies and _only _to protect your precious people. Promise?"

A serious Jiraiya is as common as a crying Tsunade… very rare; which means that this promise was very important to the Frog Hermit. "I promise Ji-sama. I will not let you down." Natsuko smiled at the old man to reassure him. "But if you ever push me off a cliff again you're not going to be one of my precious people anymore."

* * *

"A water balloon?" Natsuko looked at the object in her hand, how was this going to help her learn Rasengan?

"There are three steps for learning Rasengan; this will help you with the first step." Jiraiya explained; he also held a water balloon in his hand. "Using chakra, I want you to break the water balloon." As he said that the water balloon started to warp and finally popped; wetting both teacher and student.

"Okay!"

It took her 5 hours to finish the first step; 11 to figure out the second; and 18 to master the third. But due to traveling with Jiraiya, Natsuko was unable to do the Rasengan until after a week had passed.

"Ji-sama, Ji-sama! I finished it!" The twelve-year-old pulled on the long white ponytail.

"Let's see it then." The Frog Hermit turned to face the brightly dressed hanyou. It was strange, for the past few days while she was learning Rasengan she started to act differently. No longer was she a quiet, polite little girl; she had become louder, more energetic, and… annoying. Much like Naruto was.

"**_Rasengan!"_** A swirling blue sphere of chakra formed in Natsuko's hand. Then she rammed it into a wooden post, grinding a large crater until it finally broke. "See? I told you I could." Natsuko panted out before fainting to the floor.

As Jiraiya picked the sleeping girl off the ground he noticed a red stripe slowly forming on her cheek. "Three stripes, so she's past jounin level already." He muttered to himself, "Time for another meeting in Kitsune-Gakure."

* * *

"**_SHE HAS HER THIRD WHISKER. SHOULDN'T YOU BE ALL… ANNOYINGLY HAPPY AND… SUCH?"_**

"_**I guess I should be, but I don't know."**_

Two voices were conversing, rather loudly, about… her?

"_**WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'I DON'T KNOW'? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE GIRL WHO WE ARE SEALED IN, THE HANYOU GIRL, AND YOUR DAUGHTER! SHE IS FINALLY STRONG ENOUGH TO GO TO KONOHA… LIKE YOU WANTED HER TO."**_

"_**Yeah, but she still doesn't know about the seal. And I don't want her to be… to be…"**_

"_**HURT?"**_

"**_Tainted, corrupted by those damned villagers."_**

"_**OH YEAH, YOU'RE VERY CARING ABOUT YOUR ONE AND ONLY CHILD."**_

"_Why does my head hurt? Why are you two talking so loud? Who are you?"_

"_**Shut up, wait. I think she just said something… to us."**_

"_**NATSUKO, CAN YOU HEAR US?"**_

"_How do you know my name? Why is it so dark in here, and why are my feet wet?" _

"**_OH, YES, WE USUALLY LEAVE THE LIGHTS OFF… THERE IS NO USE FOR IT IF YOU ARE STUCK IN A CAGE."_**

Natsuko closed her eyes as a series of lights were turned on. When her eyes adjusted she saw that she was in a tunnel. As the lights at the end of the tunnel were lit she saw a large cage with a paper seal on the door. Inside the cage were two boys.

"_**Since when have we been brats, and since when have you been a human?"**_

"_What are you two doing in a cage? And where are we?"_

"_**IT'S BECAUSE NATSUKO IS THIS AGE. AND I'M NOT A HUMAN, I HAVE TAILS. SEE?"**_

"_Stop ignoring me! Answer my questions!"_

"_**NARUTO, EXPLAIN TO HER."**_

"_Wait, you're Naruto? Naruto Uzumaki? As in my father, Naruto Uzumaki? What are you doing inside a cage?"_

"_**Yes, yes, yes, and I will explain as soon as you stop asking questions!"**_

Natsuko quieted, she wanted an explanation.

"_**I am your father, Naruto Uzumaki. This is the Kyuubi no Kitsune. And we are inside you mind. And don't ask any questions until after the story.**_

_**When I was born some couple of years ago, Kyuubi here started to attack Konoha. In order to save that damned village, the Yondaime Hokage sealed Kyuubi into me. But I wish he hadn't so that Kyuubi would have killed all of those freaking damned villagers. Those bas-"**_

"_I know that part."_

"_**Well, anyways, when you were born your mother gave up her life for you. But since you're a hanyou my life also had to be sacrificed."**_

"_**AND SINCE THE IDIOT HAD NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS DOING HE ENDED UP SEALING THE BOTH OF US IN HERE."**_

"**_I'm not an idiot! But, yeah, that's pretty much it."_**

"_Oh… well that's… nice."_

"_**WE'LL TALK TO YOU AGAIN LATER, BUT NOW I THINK YOU'RE WAKING UP."**_

* * *

"She has her third stripe." Jiraiya stated. It was always so quiet during these meetings in Kitsune-Gakure. Shippou, Tsunade, and him were sitting around a table in Natsuko's room; the young girl asleep on her bed.

"She's allowed to go to Konoha now." Tsunade said in reply.

"She knows about the seal." Shippou said, surprising the two humans. "She's talking to them right now, in her head." He explained; it was a kitsune thing.

"And I'm awake." Natsuko added from the bed, surprising the sannin even more.

"You've met them, right?" The kitsune asked calmly, it just wouldn't do if he was surprised like a human.

"Yes, and for some reason I do not feel shocked. It does explain some things, though." She stared at the ceiling, ignoring the tears that fell. Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at her sadly; they were unable to help her.

"What things?" Tsunade asked, curious.

"Like how in my dreams I remember lives that weren't mine. And why all those people offered to train me but at the same time they feared me. Why Ichiyo-chan seemed to be just like me. Why sometimes I feel really energetic and other times I feel like I can do anything I want to. And, no matter how hard I looked I could never find my father in the Land of Spirits. It's because I'm the jinchuuriki for Otou-sama and Kyuubi-sama." She listed off; the tears were slowing down now.

"Are you okay now?" Jiraiya asked, turning his chair to face her.

"Yes, I just wanted a good cry before we start planning for Konoha."

* * *

"It has been a month since you have earned your third whisker; a month of planning and details. It is now time for you to become Kitsune-Gakure's only ninja. Natsuko, we give you the first ever Kitsune hitai-ate." Shippou stood on the same stage where baby Natsuko was presented to the village. Kneeling in front of the leader was the thirteen-year-old blonde, holding the forehead protector.

"I will wear it proudly." Natsuko tied it on, adjusting it to make it comfortable.

"Your first mission is to prepare for the Chuunin exams that will be held in Konoha-Gakure next month." Shippou shut his eyes as he heard the audience's murmurs. The princess would go to the cursed village? Why?

Natsuko merely nodded. It was her life's goal, to be the greatest ninja ever and to prove Konoha wrong. She had prepared for it all her life, so why was she nervous?

"These two hitai-ate are for your… _teammates._" These two did not seem to shine like Natsuko's did; but Natsuko's was special.

The hanyou nodded again. She took them and placed them in the pouch on her hip. Now, why were her hands shaking so much? The mystery of her hands made her forget her surroundings until a pair of arms wrapped around her. "Kurama?"

"If it gets too hard, I –no- all kitsunes are always here for you." He whispered in Natsuko's ear as he released her from the hug. When the ninja team was chosen Kurama had been sad that he wasn't in it.

"Thanks," She said back, finding her voice again, "but I have good teammates. And I'm not half bad myself." A smile almost made it onto her face but Jiraiya and Tsunade made their presence known.

"It's time to go now." Tsunade stated; she didn't want Natsuko to start regretting the decisions made.

"Right! Goodbye everybody, see you soon!" _Hopefully… _Natsuko waved farewell at all the kitsunes. They were family, even if she only saw them a month every year.

She kept waving when they left the village, and wouldn't stop waving until it was out of sight. Leaving Kitsune. On to Konoha.

* * *

"That is Konoha." A blonde kunoichi stood on the top of a hill, staring at the village below. Navy blue ninja pants, a yellow shirt, and a small orange jacket; her choice of clothing.

The girl's two teammates stood behind her. Both of them male; one with red hair and the other with yellow.

"Yeah." The blonde boy said. His hair spiked up, the edges slowly becoming orange. Blue eyes were hidden by orange bangs. Orange pants, blue shirt, and an orange jacket screamed out 'Notice me'.

"Shall we get going then?" The only redhead of the team said. He had unusual yellow eyes with slits for pupils. He was wearing black ninja pants, a red shirt, and a black ninja vest; the darkest outfit out of the three of them.

"Okay," Natsuko took a deep breath and turned to face the boys, "Let's go Tou-sama, Kyuu-sama."

* * *

**Naruto Words:**

**Gama- Frog**

**Yondaime- The fourth leader/Kage of a ninja village**

**Rasengan- A jutsu used by Jiraiya, Naruto, and the Yondaime Hokage. Literally means "Spiraling Sphere".**

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**A/N: What have I done? I don't know… this chapter is full of confusing stuff (I think… it should be) that will be explained in the rest of the story.**

**Next Chapter: Natsuko sees Konoha for the first time and she meets genin that are her age! What's this? Sasuke-teme has a son?**

**Read and Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

**random reader**

**miyu**

**Tsuyoko Inomoto**

**saiyan prince1**

**TenWings**

**isthisparadise**

**Alankar**

**And just a bit of a warning, many of you might disagree with who I've made the Hokage. It will be explained _right_ after you find out who it is, so please read through the explanation before you start flaming me… thank you.**

* * *

"Have you heard? The Legendary Sannin are returning today!" It was a cry heard throughout the streets of Konoha.

"But why now of all times? It is just a few days before the chuunin exams."

"I heard that both of them trained a team and they want the teams to take part in the exams."

"Really? But they won't be able to defeat this year's Rookie Nine. They have the Uchiha heir."

"And this year there are _three_ with Hyuuga blood."

"No foreign ninjas are going to beat us."

Naruto snorted at the conversation. He had hidden behind a stack of boxes and was eavesdropping on two ladies. It was reconnaissance, to find out who the Konoha ninjas were. But he was also surprised; Sasuke-teme has a kid? Figures that the Uchiha would be welcomed back with open arms even though he had betrayed the village. _Bas-_

"Tou-sama, you're randomly growling again." Natsuko waved her hand in front of her father's face. It was strange, even though Naruto was her father he looked her age.

"No I'm not. I was thinking of things I'd rather not think about." Naruto said smugly, even though is sentence was strange.

Kyuubi scoffed at the other boy, but said nothing.

"The Uchiha?" Natsuko asked the other blonde, since they had gotten to Konoha he had been growling at everything related to Sasuke.

The response was another growl.

"Kyuu-sama and I have also been hearing things about _that_. We're supposed to turn in our Chuunin Exams forms… but afterwards we could always play a prank on the Uchiha." Natsuko smiled, she knew how much her father loved playing pranks- she remembered his memories.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Naruto yelled; running towards the Hokage tower and pulling his daughter and demon along after him. _Watch out, Uchiha, as soon as we turn in these forms you are DOOMED!_

* * *

"Hokage-sama, the Godaime and Jiraiya-sama are on their way." An ANBU guard said, bowing before exiting the office.

Konohamaru sighed and rubbed his forehead, now that he was Hokage he really didn't see what was so good about it… not that he deserved the title anyways…

"_We object!" A group of ninja barged through the door, interrupting the meeting that the Council of Elders was having. The intruding ninja were made up of Naruto's Rookie Nine (minus Team 7), Neji, Tenten, Lee, and the Konohamaru Corps._

"_On what?" Elder Homura asked; they were in the middle of discussing who the Rokudaime Hokage would be; though they already had someone in mind._

"_You can not make Sasuke Uchiha the Rokudaime!" Kiba yelled out, without **HIM**, he was easily the loudest ninja in the village._

"_And why not, Kiba Inuzuka?" Elder Koharu replied; she, along with most of the Council of Elders, thought that Sasuke was the perfect choice._

"_Because he's evil!" Ino exclaimed, slamming her hands down on the Elder's desk. When Sasuke had returned to Konoha at age 17 and received minimum punishment despite nearly killing five of his fellow ninjas; Ino, disgusted, had destroyed the crush she had on him._

"_What she means, Elders, is that… if Sasuke is made Rokudaime then these ninja will sever all ties to Konoha." Shikamaru calmly said, producing a scroll with a list of names on it. Now, however, the Rookie Nine were in their mid-twenties and though they had to accept Sasuke none of them liked him… except Sakura._

"_This is quite a list." Elder Homura frowned; it really was quite a list. Although the list was short, the names on it were very important. _

_Shino Aburame, jounin and about to become ANBU. Choji Akimichi, jounin and one of Konoha's skilled ambassadors. Hinata Hyuuga, jounin and Hyuuga's clan head. Neji Hyuuga, already a captain of an ANBU squad. Kiba Inuzuka, one of the top jounin. Rock Lee, jounin and the best taijutsu expert. Shikamaru Nara, jounin and the most skilled strategist in all the villages. Tenten, a very skilled ANBU. Ino Yamanaka, jounin and head of the Torture and Interrogation Force. Moegi Shitaya, chuunin but one of the best medic nins. Udon Shigematsu, chuunin and Konoha's second best strategist. Konohamaru Sarutobi, a chuunin following the steps of his grandfather and his hero._

"_Do you have anyone else in mind?" Elder Koharu asked, the list annoyed her… didn't they have any respect?_

"_Konohamaru." Choji simply said, to the surprise of said ninja and the Elders._

"_Konohamaru is the only one among us who **HE** would approve of being Hokage." Neji explained solemnly… if **HE** were here then **HE** would be Hokage. Not some long-named chuunin._

"_He may not be strong now, but being Hokage is about being a good leader… and Konohamaru-kun has this generation's support." Hinata stated; she had become more confident since becoming Hyuuga clan's leader._

_The Elders were speechless. They could not afford to lose all of those ninja, but they despised the reason why Konohamaru was going to be Hokage. It was not a difficult decision, but their arrogance made it hard._

"_Fine. Konohamaru will be the Rokudaime Hokage." And the discussion ended._

"Well, well, the apprentice of my apprentice has become Hokage." Jiraiya smirked,awaking the spaced out Konohamaru.

"I don't deserve it, though." Konohamaru said nervously, he was barely at jounin rank now.

"You're right," Tsunade said coldly, "you don't." She glared at him.

Konohamaru cringed at the intensity of the glare, "What can I do for you, Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama?"

"Ah, hold on, they're coming." Jiraiya looked out the window, waiting.

"We're here!" Naruto shouted, the door slamming open, "We just had to take care of something." He thumbed behind him where two ANBU guards were unconscious on the floor. Natsuko sitting on one and Kyuubi stepping on the other.

"But those are AN-"

"These three are from Kitsune-Gakure. They are the only three ninja of their village and they wish to partake in the Chuunin Exam." Tsunade interrupted the Hokage, gesturing to the three teenagers.

"I've never heard of Kitsune-Gakure." Konohamaru said out loud, looking at the ceiling as if he would get an answer.

"That's because it's in," Jiraiya explained, whispering the last part, "Land of the Spirits."

"So that means that they are demons?" Konohamaru asked cautiously. He was only a jounin! He didn't have the strength to defeat a demon, not to mention _three_ of them.

"No!" Natsuko yelled out, "Well, not completely anyways." She muttered out the last part… technically she was half a demon and Kyuubi was full.

"Can we just turn in the forms already? We have pranks to pull." Naruto complained, even though he was an adult he was acting like a child.

"Fine; give them here." The kitsune team turned in their forms to the Hokage.

"Let's see… Natsuko Kurama, Kyuu Yoko, and Touru Shippou from Kitsune-Gakure." Konohamaru read off the papers and then looked closely at Naruto. "Touru Shippou? You remind me of someone else. And you look like him too."

There was a pause. Could they have been figured out so quickly?

"Can we go now?" Kyuubi broke the silence, much to everybody's (except Konohamaru) relief.

"Goodbye and thank you Hokage-sama." Natsuko said quickly as she followed her teammates out the window.

"This year's Chuunin Exams should be interesting." The Hokage said to the agreement of the two sannins.

* * *

"That is too cruel and the second part is illegal." Natsuko scolded her father. Naruto had been listing off all sorts of pranks they could pull, only for them to be shot down by Natsuko or Kyuubi.

"Fine then," Naruto humphed, "Why don't you guys come up with something?" Since when had dipping someone in radioactive waste become illegal?

The three were walking along a path in Konoha's forest. They had gotten bored with the village and they couldn't exactly talk about sabotaging a Konoha ninja right in plain sight.

"Mess with his mind." Kyuubi rolled his eyes, just because he was more than a thousand years old didn't mean he was nice. "If the Uchiha is harmed in any way before the Chuunin Exams we'd be prime suspects."

"Ha! Good luck with that!" Naruto looked ahead; they were nearing a river… could it be? "If the brat is really an Uchiha then he should be just as cold-hearted as… Sasuke-teme!" He yelled out, on a red bridge (the same bridge from the past) stood a pale figure clad in blue and black.

In a matter of milliseconds Naruto had appeared in front of the figure and lifted the boy off the bridge with the front of his blue shirt. "Sasuke-teme!" He growled out, preparing his free arm for a punch.

The punch, however, stopped inches from the pale boy's face. "Stop, Touru." Kyuu held on to Naruto's shoulder, "Drop him."

The Konoha ninja fell to the ground like a lifeless puppet. Natsuko rushed to his side, helping him sit up. "This isn't Sasuke-teme," She reported to her teammates, "He just looks like him."

"That is expected when the man is your father." The Uchiha finally spoke, catching the attention of the two arguing boys.

"So you're the Uchiha prodigy we've heard about." Kyuubi stared at the Uchiha, who was staring at Natsuko and… blushing? Maybe this would be good information for later.

"No, that's my sister, Sakuno. I'm Sanosuke, by the way." Sanosuke corrected, he was used to being compared to his sister… the genius.

"Are you competing in the Chuunin Exams too?" Naruto glared, Sanosuke was still an Uchiha… with Sasuke-teme as his father.

"Yeah, but you don't really here the villagers talking about me." The blue boy muttered; even though was used to it didn't mean he couldn't get jealous.

"Hey Sanosuke," A brown-haired boy clad in green waved, "Come on, Kotetsu-sensei is getting mad!"

"Ah, sorry," Sanosuke shot up immediately, and ran towards his friend, "Tenji, wait up!"

The kitsune ninja stared at the retreating pair. "So, Sasuke-teme has two kids…" Kyuubi broke the silence. "And the boy likes Natsuko."

"What!" Both blondes yelled out, this one would take a while to explain.

* * *

In a dark room, at night, three figures stood. Two boys and one girl, all of them with bright colored hair.

"Report!" Naruto barked out, it was good to have power… sort of.

"Natsuko, what did you find out?" Kyuubi rephrased, rolling his eyes at the only human of the team.

"Konoha's Rookie Nine is made up of Team 2, Team 5, and Team 10. They are led by the jounin Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, and Tonbo Tobitake. Team 2 is made up of Tenji Hyuuga, Inoka Nara, and Sanosuke Uchiha. Team 5 is made up of Mina Inuzuka, Yukio Sarutobi, and Sakuno Uchiha. And Team 10 is Shin Aburame, Chomaru Akimichi, and Haruki Lee." The jinchuuriki stated and mocked a salute at the two boys. "So what did you find out, Kyuu-sama?"

"You know the Ichibi? The one that you named?" The demon reminded her, "He's already a genin and has a team. His teammates are Tetsuki Tazuna from Tsunami-Gakure and Sabaku no Keitaro from Suna-Gakure. There are some strange conditions made when the team formed, so they do not have a jounin sensei. They were trained, however, by both the 'Namikage' and the Rokudaime Kazekage."

"I know; I remember. What about you, Tou-sama?"

"There is much less ninja competing compared to my time. Back in the day, man… I sound old." Naruto started, "Anyways, There are 36 from Konoha, 9 from Ame, 6 from Kiri, 6 from Kusa, 6 from Taki, 3 from Iwa, 3 from Yuki, the Ichibi's team, and us three. So that's," Naruto counted in his head, "75 in total. The exam itself is the same. Written test that is an info gathering, survival test, and a fighting tournament."

"That test was easy when you did it, now it should be child's play." Both Kyuubi and Naruto smirked, how they hated this village.

"Don't showoff, you guys." Natsuko warned, "We have to be invisible during the first parts of the test. And even in the fighting part we can't show are true potential. Okay?"

"Yes, but you too," Kyuubi said back, "We're doing this because this is what _you _wanted; this is not your father's or my revenge." He whispered in her ear, so Naruto wouldn't hear.

"I know." Natsuko sighed back. _This is what I want, right?_

* * *

**Naruto Words:**

**Godaime- The fifth leader/Kage of a ninja village**

**Rokudaime- The sixth leader/Kage of a ninja village**

**Ame- Rain, the Gakure… but Naruto is too lazy to say the complete name**

**Kiri- Mist, same as Ame**

**Kusa- Grass, same as Ame**

**Taki- Waterfall, same as Ame**

**Iwa- Rock, same as Ame**

**Yuki- Snow, same as Ame**

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**A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope it wasn't too… icky… or anything… **

**And if you want to see pictures of Natsuko, Naruto/Touru, Kyuubi/Kyuu, and Sanosuke then go to the link on my bio…**

**Just try to guess who the Rookie Nine's parents are... and then after the next chapter all of the pictures will be put up...**

**Next Chapter: The chuunin exams finally begin! First impressions are had and reunions are made. Why does the mysterious team from Kitsune-Gakure seem to know everybody? And why is the idiot in orange so familiar? **

**Please review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

**Ryo Yuriko**

**emma4ever**

**isthisparadise**

**Gatecrasher12

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**

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"_Konoha's Rookie Nine is made up of Team 2, Team 5, and Team 10. They are led by the jounin Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, and Tonbo Tobitake. Team 2 is made up of Tenji Hyuuga, Inoka Nara, and Sanosuke Uchiha. Team 5 is made up of Mina Inuzuka, Yukio Sarutobi, and Sakuno Uchiha. And Team 10 is Shin Aburame, Chomaru Akimichi, and Haruki Lee." _

"_You know the Ichibi? He's already a genin and has a team. His teammates are Tetsuki Tazuna from Tsunami-Gakure and Sabaku no Keitaro from Suna-Gakure. There are some strange conditions made when the team formed, so they do not have a jounin sensei. They were trained, however, by both the 'Namikage' and the Rokudaime Kazekage."_

"_There is much less ninja competing compared to my time. There are 36 from Konoha, 9 from Ame, 6 from Kiri, 6 from Kusa, 6 from Taki, 3 from Iwa, 3 from Yuki, the Ichibi's team, and us three. 75 in total. The exam itself is the same. Written test that is an info gathering, survival test, and a fighting tournament."_

"_That test was easy when you did it, now it should be child's play." _

* * *

"Why do we have to be the last ones to enter?" Naruto whined, poking Kyuubi. 

"Because," The demon said through gritted teeth, "we must observe our competition." The redhead had to resist the urge to slap the annoying blonde.

The three of the stood against the wall, next to the door, and used a genjutsu to make themselves invisible.

"But more than half of them look really weak." Naruto moved to the other side of his daughter, clearly hearing the irritation in Kyuubi's voice.

"That's because more than half of them are Konoha's ninjas." Natsuko explained to her father, a smile on her face. "All of the foreign ninja are strong."

"Natsuko, just because all of them are your friends… it does not make them strong." Kyuubi lectured her as another team entered the room.

"But they _are_ strong; the villages chose their ninja well." Natsuko protested, and then started to list the teams off. "The Ame teams are good… they're all 'Seigaku regulars'. There's Kunimitsu Tezuka, Shusuke Fuji, and Sadahara Inui on the first team. Then there's Shuichiro Oishi, Eiji Kikumaru, and Takashi Kawamura on the second team; and Kaoru Kaidoh, Takeshi Momoshiro, and Ryoma Echizen on the third team. Those are the best of the best over in Ame-Gakure."

"I don't think the second team's going to make it…" Naruto piped in before the hanyou continued.

"And from Kiri-Gakure… Yugi Mutou, Mai Kujaku, and Seto Kaiba… Katsuya Jonouchi, Anzu Mazaki, and Hiroto Honda. They're not too bad."

"The girl's on both of the teams aren't all that good, though." Kyuubi criticized, watching said girls following their teammates inside the classroom.

"Kurama's friends from Taki-Gakure they're strong too. Yusuke Urameshi, Hiei Jaganshi, and Kazuma Kuwabara… they're a good team. And Keiko Yukimura, Koenma Reikai, and Botan Sanzu have their moments, too."

"If Taki were better at making teams then both of them might've made it. Again, I say, the second team's not going to make it." Naruto spotted the two teams, _Kurama has strange friends._

"I guess, but Kusa-Gakure's teams are better made." Natsuko commented pointing out at the other six ninjas, "Each member of each team specializes in a certain element. Syaoran Shidou, Kurogane Ryuuzaki, and Fai Hououji have perfect teamwork. Ami Mizuno, Rei Hino, and Makoto Kino's cooperation is almost as good."

"Shippou's human companions from Iwa-Gakure will definitely make it." Kyuubi gestured to the nearby team, "Even though their all human, Miroku Houshi, Sango Taijiya, and Kagome Higurashi's strength is equal to a lesser demon."

"Aww, Yuki-Gakure sent only one team." Naruto sighed, Yuki-Gakure was fun.

"Odd Della Robbia, Ulrich Stern, and Yumi Ishiyama… I'm surprised they didn't send Jeremie Belpois and Aelita Lyoko with them." Natsuko said, frowned a little bit before resuming her smile. "I told you all of the foreign ninja were strong." She said cheekily at Kyuubi.

The kitsune scowled a little before, finding a distraction. "Look, it's the Ichibi and his team."

The silver-haired seven-year-old walked next to his teammates, nearly two feet shorter than the other two. Ichiyo had red and blue markings on his face, below his violet orbs called eyes. Keitaro also had markings on his face, but his was purple… and paint. His green eyes were complimented by his brown hair, which was held back from his face by the Suna hitai-ate. Tetsuki, the only female teammate, had black hair with blue streaks. The uniqueness was matched with smiling pink eyes under a Tsunami hitai-ate.

Natsuko almost yelled out a greeting before she spotted a Konoha team behind them. _We must observe all of the competition before they observe us._

* * *

It took another 23 minutes for the last team to enter. Then Kyuubi made them wait another four minutes before they would enter. Finally… they entered. 

"Count them," Kyuubi whispered a command as the team entered the room, "Just the Konoha."

"38. Kyuu-sama"

"Find which two are the fakes." The red-haired boy whispered again. The Kitsune team was the last to enter; therefore they were being watched by all the other genins.

"At two o'clock; the one with the weird mustache and the one with nerdy glasses." Naruto rolled his eyes; he hated how Kyuubi was so bossy.

"Good that means-" The demon was interrupted.

"NATSUKO!" Said hanyou was being squished by more than ten of the foreign ninjas.

As the foreign teams migrated towards the Kitsune team the Konoha teams went to the opposite side of the room, creating an unseen battle before the exam; Konoha against… everyone else. And the cause of it was the mysterious team from an unknown village.

Natsuko traded greetings with each and every one of the ninjas, asking questions of their lives back at home. Secretly she slipped them a tiny scroll, containing information on which two 'genins' were truly chuunins. Kyuubi would get mad at her, but she wanted to help… as long as it didn't interfere with her own mission. And plus, it all came down to the _secret_ question of the quiz… if they were willing to take risks.

While one of the rather chatty nins told a story Natsuko looked at the Konoha side of the room… and made eye contact with a pink-haired, green-eyed girl. _Oh yeah, the Uchihas… I almost forgot about them._

* * *

Sakuno glared slightly when her green eyes met that foreigner's blue ones; then turned to stare at her brother. This was the angel her brother had met? This tan skinned, blond haired, blue eyed, freak who enjoyed putting red stripes on her face… and who obviously was colorblind. 

_Orange is a stupid color and a person who wears it is an idiot. _That's what her father said, anyways. Then again, her father wasn't exactly a sociable person… all of the ninja his age always seemed to be mad at him. And this idiot was immediately surrounded by people when she stepped through the door.

"Popularity will not get you far, though." Sakuno muttered under her breath, glaring harder at the crowd which surrounded Natsuko.

"What did you say Sakuno-chan?" Mina, her teammate, asked. Mina was one of the few people the prodigy would consider a friend.

"Nothing, Inuzuka." But the purple-haired girl's father was a loud and annoying moron.

"Okay," Mina smiled a small smile before turning to Yukio, the only male of the team, and continuing their conversation. Yukio was easy to get along with, so was Mina, but the Uchiha couldn't understand why they were not friends.

Maybe it was jealousy, or a grudge passed from father to daughter, but Sakuno knew at that moment that she hated Natsuko.

* * *

"Hey, Sanosuke, aren't those the people you were with yesterday?" Tenji asked the other boy. After the Hyuuga had found Sanosuke Kotetsu-sensei had made them walk up and down trees for two hours for being late. 

"Yeah, that's her- I mean them." He quickly corrected himself, but his teammates had already heard him.

"Ooh, Sano-kun likes her!" Inoka teased, giggling when the usually pale boy turned red.

"I think he lurves her!" Tenji made a kiss-y face, and Sanosuke's face became redder.

"Inoka! Tenji! I do not!" Even though he disliked the teasing they were giving him, Sanosuke knew they were all friends. He was not like his father, except for his looks, and was more sociable like his mother.

"Of course you don't," The boy in green said sarcastically, "But, besides that, that team is strange isn't it? I've never seen a gakure with that symbol. Inoka…?"

The blonde girl sighed, just because her IQ was above 200 didn't mean she knew everything… answering all of her teammate's questions was so troublesome. Great, now she was acting like her dad. "Sometimes regular villages will train a few people to protect themselves. If those people are trained as ninjas then they can also hire themselves to people to make money. If their rank is higher then they can take on more expensive missions, to make their rank higher..."

Inoka let the rest explain itself. When her purple eyes glanced over at her teammates she got mad, "You weren't even listening, bakas!" She hit both of them on the head, now she was acting like her mother. How troublesome.

* * *

"Quiet," The boy with sunglasses commanded, holding a finger out for one of his bugs to land on. 

"What for, Shin?" Chomaru asked, his brown hair flopping to the side as he tilted his head.

"Chomaru, listen." Haruki explained, the girl was also tilting her head but for a different reason.

They could hear bits and pieces of the foreigner's conversation, most of them centering on Natsuko.

"_Last time we sparred it took Natsuko only two minutes for her to win… and she was seven at the time!"_

"_One time, both of us were taught a jutsu and it only took Natsuko a couple of hours for her to master it. It took me a week to even use it … and I still haven't mastered it!"_

"_Don't you remember? We were on a mission, and there were stronger ninja and Natsuko had to come save us. And later on she ended up healing you because you fell into a trap!"_

"_You were so jealous of Natsuko at the time… You would train all night to try and beat her and you got so mad when she won…"_

"This Natsuko sounds strong." Haruki said even though it was obvious. She didn't have the snobby attitude of her mother, and she wasn't as… exuberant as her father. But she knew her strength and knew when others were stronger than her; a balance between her parents.

"Yeah."

"Un."

Both boys agreed with her before the team went back into its previous actions. Chomaru was looking for something to eat, Haruki was meditating, and Shin was doing… whatever Shin does.

* * *

After 30 minutes of chatting amongst friends the room was silenced with a "SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!" 

The genins scurried to their seats, afraid of the jounin who had issued the command. The chuunin that followed after her also seemed shaken by their superior.

"Anybody that speaks beyond this point will be disqualified, along with his or her teammates." The woman barked out, standing in the front of the classroom.

"But what about-" A Konoha ninja began.

"Number 56 is OUT!" She pointed at him then at the door, clearly annoyed. "Number 32 and Number 11 are also out." Two other ninja stood and followed after, grumbling.

The jounin's light blue eyes scanned over the remaining genins before she continued, "Each competitor is given 10 points. If we catch you cheating a point will be taken off. If you lose all of your points you and your teammates are disqualified."

The woman clapped her bandaged hands, signaling for the test to be passed out.

"Wait! There are only nine questions on this!" Another foolish Konoha genin, this time female, yelled out.

"Number 27, get out! Number 69 and 42, you too." She said in a bored tone, brushing the bangs out of her face. She waited until the team left to resume the instructions. "The tenth question will be given to you after 90 minutes. For 90 minutes you will be tested and for 90 minutes my word is law."

The purple clad jounin then put a sadistic grin on her face. "My name is Ino Yamanaka Nara. I am the proctor for the first part of the Chuunin Exam. Begin."

* * *

**Naruto Words:**

**Baka(s) - stupid or idiot(s)**

* * *

**Natsuko Ideas:**

**Foreign Teams- Many of the foreign teams are characters from other anime/cartoons. These are characters who I thought would be really fun to make into ninja and since most of them have 'attacks' with names it could be their jutsu or something. Some of these characters I like and some I don't like at all, but all of them are really fun or really easy to make into ninja.**

**Rookie Nine:**

**Parents- Still hoping you guys will guess on who are their parents… There are some who are easy and some who are hard… So I'll give you more hints…**

**-Tenji's parents are not from the 'original' Rookie Nine.**

**-Mina's hair color is natural and from her mother.**

**-Yukio's parents are also not from the 'original' Rookie Nine.**

**-Chomaru's mother is not in the manga/anime.**

**-Haruki's parents are also not from the 'original' Rookie Nine.**

**-Shin's mother is (probably) not from the manga/anime.**

**Love Interests- If you want to pair up some of the Rookie Nine then include it in your review and I'll see if I can (or want to). Shounen / Shoujo Ai (or is it yaoi / yuri ?) suggestions are fine… but I probably won't do it... unless it seems really good.**

**Pictures- The rest of the pictures will be put up… so check the link on bio and click on Second Taile.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hmmm… most of my notes are in the ideas part… so please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

**isthisparadise**

**Kyuubikitsune9**

**IA**

**Kiseki no Tenshi**

**Tsukishiro**

**unlovedepacifist**

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"_Begin."_

Natsuko looked around the classroom, not to cheat but to watch how everyone else cheated. Especially the Rookie Nine, they were important. The hanyou looked over at her red-haired teammate, and plus, it wasn't time for her to cheat yet.

Natsuko was seated near the center of the room, but more in the back. She took a glance to her right. Two Byakugan users and one of the Sharingan users sat there; Haruki Lee, Mina Inuzuka, and Sakuno Uchiha.

Natsuko took a quick peek behind her. Inoka Nara… if she wasn't using her mother's **_Shintenshin no Jutsu_** then she must have her father's intelligence. And Yukio Sarutobi was using his other eye? _I didn't notice he wore an eye patch, his hidden eye is a Sharingan like Kakashi's… and his normal eye is red too … strange._

To her left, next to the windows, was Shin Aburame- using his bugs- and Tenji Hyuuga- was using Byakugan obviously- and Chomaru Akimichi… was using a butterfly? _I didn't know Akimichis could communicate with butterflies… maybe his teammate helped him with that._

And in front of her sat Sanosuke Uchiha, who was also sitting next to Naruto and Kyuubi. Natsuko smiled before covering it with her hand, Sanosuke kept looking nervously back and forth between the other boys as if they would leap out and attack him; although, from this angle she couldn't tell if he was using Sharingan to cheat.

_Speaking of cheating… I think it's time already for me to cheat._ The jinchuuriki took another look around the classroom, this time looking for the two fakes. _The one with glasses is at the table to my right… that should be close enough._

Natsuko took a deep breath before silently whispering, **_"Neiri no Jutsu."_** She heard a satisfied thump as the chuunin went to sleep. The hanyou took another breath, this one a little bit shaky, as she again whispered, **_"Kitsune Neiri no Jutsu."_** She was slightly aware of the pain in her head as it collided with the desk before she went to sleep.

* * *

'_Hmm… I can see myself…' _Natsuko thought as her conscious floated out of her body. She had learned that a kitsune could take over a persons mind through dreams or through a full moon… and if she had neither she could force sleep on someone using a jutsu. Sometimes it was a blessing to be a kitsune hanyou.

The chuunin pretending to be a genin, and victim to her jutsu, continued to snore on… but he was being watched suspiciously by the chuunin supervisors.

'_I should hurry,' _Natsuko muttered… or thought… or thought-muttered to herself before thought-diving into the Konoha nin's mind.

* * *

Ichiyo looked at his teammates, both of them seated at the same table. He could feel the tension between the two teenagers. Even though he was half their age (they were both 14) he was the most mature out of all of them. That was because their team was a condition of a treaty, and the elder two were against it.

Keitaro was the son of Sabaku no Kankuro, the master puppeteer. This made him nephew of Sabaku no Temari, the Rokudaime Kazekage. Tetsuki was the daughter of Inari Tazuna, the Shodai Namikage. Since both genins were from important families of both gakures this made them the perfect candidates for an international team… and both of them were the closest relatives of Ichiyo.

Ichiyo's father was Sabaku no Gaara, the original jinchuuriki of the Ichibi no Shukaku, making him cousins with Keitaro; and his mother was Tsukiko Kaiza, the deceased would-be Nidaime Namikage and Tetsuki's godmother.

Although Ichiyo inherited his mother's looks, he received his father's personality (minus the homicidal maniac bit) and skills… which he put to good use; he took another peek through the **_Daisan no Me_** and jotted down the remaining test answers.

The tanuki then resumed watching his teammates. Keitaro was using his puppet to cheat and Tetsuki was using a series of small mirrors. They still had time to glare at each other now and then. Ichiyo sighed; he was the cause of this uncooperative team… Since the seven-year-old was **important** to both gakures they **shared** him; and threw Keitaro and Tetsuki in to **improve** his… social skills.

"They're the ones that need help." Ichiyo muttered to himself, "Babies."

* * *

_Drip Drip Drip._

A pair of two red eyes opened slowly, glowing in the vast darkness.

_Drip Drip Drip._

"_**I am quite foolish; leaving me here all by myself."**_

_Drip Drip Drip._

"_**And that pair of chattering geezers aren't here either."**_

_Drip Scratch Creak._

A set of fangs and claws glistened from the red glow.**_ "Perfect."_**

* * *

Ino smirked as she looked around the classroom. One of the chuunin supervisors gave her a signal. "Numbers 4, 48, and 73 leave the classroom." Her voice broke the silence before three Konoha genin got up from their seats and left.

Now her smirk fell into a frown. Out of the seven teams that had been eliminated, six of them were from Konoha and the seventh was an Ame team. The good news was that all of the Rookie Nine were still in the running, which included her genius daughter, the bad was that nearly all of the foreign ninjas.

She didn't like the looks of the foreign ninjas this year, especially since two of them were really unique. One was composed of ninja from different gakures, Nami and Suna, signaling an alliance; and if this alliance of the richest and the largest gakures ever became enemies of Konoha this would spell disaster.

The other team she especially didn't like, besides the fact she had never heard of Kitsune-Gakure, they were suspicious on their own. Ino had heard from her talkative daughter about her teammate's meeting with the foreign ninjas, and how they had mistaken Sanosuke for his father. While it was true that the boy did resemble his father in looks, Sasuke had only left the village during the Nami mission and the time when he betrayed Konoha.

Her fist clenched and shook in anger, Ino was still touchy on that subject. "Number 35, 58, and 40 are eliminated."

Also, she just didn't like the way they looked. The red-headed boy's appearance screamed demonic and, while the girl did seem innocent, the stripes on her face added a savage touch; also they seemed much stronger than they wished to let on. The Konoha jounin especially didn't like the way the blond boy looked, too much like **_HIM_**.

"Number 60, Number 14, and Number 59 must leave." _Damn, there goes another team from Konoha now only 15 genin are left._

* * *

Kyuubi tore his glare away from the Uchiha boy and stared at the door. The majority of the teams that had left _were _Konoha ninja, according to Natsuko's predictions. Except for the Ame team- Shuichiro Oishi, Eiji Kikumaru, and Takashi Kawamura (true to Naruto's predictions) - and the Kiri team that had just been eliminated- Katsuya Jonouchi, Anzu Mazaki, and Hiroto Honda- only the Konoha genin were failing the test.

He had finished this pathetic _test _quite easily. One did not live for more than a millennium and not know simple equations. But even though he was the all powerful Kyuubi no Kitsune and knew much more than all of Konoha combined he still had to pretend to cheat, to keep the air of normalcy.

He knew that being from a different village would make them suspicious to the Konoha chuunin observers. Opposite from Tsunami Gakure, Konoha was very cautious of foreigners and only let foreigners in during the Chuunin exams. This was their own fault, and a little of Naruto's too.

Even though Naruto was hated in Konoha he was very popular outside of the village. Since his genin years he could make a strong impact on the people he met; for example, the Tazuna family of Wave, Princess Koyuki Kazahana of Snow country, and the Sabaku no siblings. Once he denounced his Konoha heritage, all of his allies (Naruto still preferred to call them special people) also turned from the Fire country's ninja village; all treaties with them broken, and all alliances ignored. Had it not been for the twelve Konoha ninjas and their prevention of a Sasuke Hokage there would have been a war, a war that Konoha would have lost.

Even if they were willing to go to war for him, they were not his _most_ precious people. Naruto's _most_ precious people had abandoned him long ago and never looked back.

* * *

Natsuko's spirit floated out of the undercover chuunin's body, invisible to everyone but herself. It had taken her a while to figure out how to retrieve information from the undercover chuunin's mind, but she had done it.

The hanyou smiled to herself, patting her phantom shoulder, _"What a smart ninja I am. One question down, eight more to go."_ Natsuko dove into her physical body and it woke up, a small trickle of blood trailing from her forehead. _Next time I should have my head on the table instead._

She picked up her pencil and started writing the answer while checking the remaining time. She sighed as she finished writing the answer, 48 kilometers per hour, even though she had the skills of a jounin she still didn't know things such as wind factor and speed. She preferred to feel the wind than time it, and to throw a kunai than calculate the angle of its path.

And plus who needed those things when she had **_"Kitsune Neiri no Jutsu"_**. This time as her spirit left her body there was no collision between the desk and her head.

* * *

Sanosuke twiddled his thumbs as he slumped further into his seat. _Ah, now only one of them is glaring at me._ He didn't know what he did wrong, but ever since he had taken the seat between them, the two Kitsune nins had not stopped glaring.

He had already finished taking the test, using his Sharingan. Even though he only had one tomoe it was still sufficient enough to copy off of the ninjas in front of him; though, his sister had three tomoe in her Sharingan and an intelligence to match their mother's.

The Uchiha sighed, catching the attention of Kyuu. _Great, now the red-head's starting to glare at me again. Why do **I** have to be the one sitting next to **these** foreign ninjas?_

**_If I was sitting next to the girl then I wouldn't mind so much._**

Sanosuke blushed, only a little though, at his Inner self's statement. Another thing he had inherited from his mother, the inner personality bit. And while it was useful against Inoka's **_Shintenshin no Jutsu_** it was troublesome in everything else.

He sighed again, and twiddled his thumbs again. _Now Sakuno is glaring at me too._

* * *

As Natsuko drifted back to her own body for the final time she twitched ever so often, muttering about how disgusting it was to be in a Konoha nin's mind. Her spirit dove into the body, as it took a deep breath almost a sigh of relief. When she opened her eyes however, relief was far from what she felt.

Instead of the brightly lit classroom she knew she was in she saw only darkness. Instead of the silence she knew was there she heard the sound of dripping water and the creak of a swinging door.

"_Tou-sama? Kyuu-sama? Is anybody here?"_ Her voice came out softer than she would have liked but it was heard over the constant dripping. Natsuko gasped as suddenly a red glow lit up the tunnel.

"**_Can I please shut up?" _**A growl, much louder than her whimpering before echoed in her mind.

"_You're awake?"_ Now her voice had gotten stronger, annoyed that she would be told to shut up in her own mind. _"You're not allowed to be awake! Not that it matters, because soon you'll have to go to sleep."_

"**_That is where I am wrong; my foolishness, and my father's, and his demon's foolishness have awakened me. I will not go back to sleep, and if I try I will punish me."_** The red glow came closer to Natsuko, splashing with each step.

"_You don't make any sense, I am me and you are you. Who do you think you are anyways?"_

The lower red glow lifted up until it was even with the higher red glow, making an even larger light. This red, demonic light revealed a Natsuko; same length blonde hair, same height, same clothes even; but there were three major differences, her eyes were red, she had claws and fangs, and instead of three stripes on her face she had nine: three on each cheek and a set on her forehead.

"_**I am me."**_

* * *

**Naruto Words:**

**tomoe**- the… how do I put this seriously… swirly comma looking thingies in Sharingan

**Byakugan**- The Hyuuga family blood line. Their eyes can see chakra points, which help in their family jutsus, and can see nearly 360 degrees around them

**Sharingan**- The Uchiha family blood line. Their eyes can slow down the things they see, allowing them to copy other people's jutsus. Supposedly able to hypnotize opponents.

**tanuki**- the Ichibi no Shukaku is one, it's a Japanese raccoon dog

_**Shintenshin no Jutsu**-_ translated to be "Change of Heart" or "Valentine" no Jutsu. The Yamanaka family (now married into the Nara family in my story) have the ability to send their spirit into another person and control them. Not hereditary but has been passed down from parent to child.

_**Neiri no Jutsu**-_ literally "Forced Sleep". Self explanatory.

_**Kitsune Neiri no Jutsu**-_ in the manga/anime Gaara uses _Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu_ which forces himself to fall asleep and allows the Shukaku to take control.

_**Daisan no Me**- _literally "Third Eye". Gaara made an eye out of sand that he was able to control and see out of.

* * *

**Natsuko Ideas:**

**Treaty between Suna and Tsunami:** Okay so it was partially explained in Ichiyo's weird mind rant but I'll explain it a little more:

Ichiyo is the son of Sabaku no Gaara and Tsukiko Kaiza. The Kazekage is now Sabaku no Temari (I'll probably explain why later), Gaara's older sister, therefore making her Ichiyo's (and Keitaro's) aunt.

Tsukiko Kaiza is called the Nidaime Namikage (even though Namikage is not a real title) because had something happened to Inari then she would have been the Namikage. Tsukiko Kaiza is also a 'Co-Shodai' Namikage because she (and Naruto) helped found Tsunami-Gakure. Not only is she a powerful person in Tsunami she is also godmother of Tetsuki (Inari's daughter). For those of you who don't know what a godmother is… it is usually a close friend of a parent that, although aren't blood related, are important enough to make part of the family.

Through the weird system of family and bonds and such this makes Ichiyo 'cousins' to Keitaro and Tetsuki. Even though he was a nameless child for the first 4 years of his life (that will also be explained later) when the two gakures realized how powerful he was they both wanted him. And though, by the law of finder's keeper's, Tsunami should get to keep him, Ichiyo is directly related to the Kazekage. Since law of finder's keeper's law of blood and flesh. Ichiyo belongs to both. To keep the balance of power (of influence) on him equal too, Keitaro and Tetsuki were forced to be on the same team (much to their disliking). Also to keep balance of power (of influence) equal they are not taught by a jounin but by the Kages themselves.

**Last names:** In this story, since I am used to American order, they say their first name then their maiden name then their last name. The Suna siblings (Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro) do not officially have a last name. In the manga/anime they are Sabaku no –enter name here-. Sabaku no means of the desert… and it's just their title, not their last name… so yeah.

**Disqualified Genin:** These are the numbers that the disqualified genin had before they were… disqualified… 2 4 6 11 15 18 22 25 27 32 34 35 39 42 47 48 52 56 57 58 64 68 69 71 72 73… The Ame and Kiri teams were disqualified because I didn't want to seem too anit-Konoha… and hopefully I'll have some 'mind rants' for other foreign ninja besides the Suna-Tsunami and the Kitsune…

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for not updating for… 4 MONTHS! WOW… well sorry about that… And if the chapter seems a bit weird its because I've been writing bit by bit (very small bits) and I might have forgotten what I did and stuff… so sorry about that… I'm still accepting any plot twists or plot adding if you want to… so review… please…**


	8. Chapter 8

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

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* * *

Yumi gasped as a large and malevolent spike of chakra pulsed throughout the classroom. It caused her to see red for a few moments, and her pencil fell from her hand. Yumi sensed her teammates, Odd and Ulrich, and that they too had felt the wave; they were worried, because the Yuki-gakure team had once dealt with a similar and yet different power. A power called XANA.

XANA was a computer system, a weapon of mass destruction, a cyber hacker, and a sadistic control freak all rolled into one. The Yuki team along with Jeremie, their genius friend who stayed behind for the Chuunin Exams, had discovered and awakened the mechanical menace. This led to many adventures against XANA in a place called Lyoko, where they had met another (but luckily good) person named Aelita.

But that was a story already finished, and Yumi's telepathy had already told her that this was an alternate source of evil. It still worried her though, this Chuunin Exam adventure was supposed to be much safer compared to their Lyoko adventures. Would this new evil be an obstacle for them? The black-clad girl looked over at her psychic yellow and purple-haired friend. Yumi's midnight eyes met his lilac eyes. Without words she had found out Odd's vision; the team would get into more trouble than they had planned.

* * *

Shusuke Fuji's blue eyes opened slowly. This was a rare occurrence that almost only happened when the feminine looking boy was in a difficult battle. Fuji was constantly smiling, his eyes narrow from the squinting; but when his eyes opened it was his body's way of telling him something important would happen… usually in the negative persuasion. This... chakra- if such an unpleasant aura could be called that- was strong enough to make his less sensitive fellow Seigaku regulars flinch.

He, Fuji, had always been… special. Not only were his senses sharp he had earned the title of tensai, or prodigy. The genin had created three of his own jutsus at age eight and using only those three, and different versions of them, he had never lost a match. Fuji had tied a few times, but those could be counted on one hand.

And in each of those challenging battles his brilliant blue eyes had opened.

* * *

While the two sensitive humans were having similar deductions of the wave of chakra, Hiei's hand tensed. The pencil in his hand was near the point of breaking. Hiei knew the true name of the aura… it was youkai. As a half fire and half ice demon, detecting youkai was as simple as breathing… easier even. He could also tell it was kitsune youkai, since he was close friends with Kurama. But what the hybrid couldn't figure out was… what in Kami's name could produce this intense youkai?

But that was quickly pushed to the back of his mind as he felt his **Jagan** and his **Jaou Ensatsu Kokuryuha** begin to awaken. The strongest source of the demon's powers, the third eye in his forehead and the mystical black dragon tattoo on his arm, were both triggered by youkai. So that they could remain hidden he covered them with spirit-enhanced bandages, but it appeared that even those could not stop the youkai from affecting Hiei.

He put his pencil down and opted to grip his other arm with the dragon on it. If Kurama was here than he could easily help the shorter demon with his control problem. _'I would prefer to be on a "team" with Kurama rather than with Kuwabara-baka.' _ Even though he would never admit that he had emotions, Hiei wished Kurama was in Konoha with them… and later he would realize; it would come true.

* * *

Natsuko woke up from her forced sleep. Her eyelids felt heavy but she forced them open, she didn't want to stay in that dark tunnel with that… _creature_. Her breathing was ragged and heavy, but she still remained quiet. She could not afford to get kicked out of the Chuunin Exams for something as stupid as being loud. Remembering the test that was laid out in front of her carelessly, the blond scribbled the answer in its appropriate spot. Natsuko fingered her three whiskers and shivered, while at the same time smiling. _'Nine whiskers… three sets… all that potential power… and it was without Tou-sama or Kyuu-sama.' _

Had the blonde had more time she would have realized the strange tingling on her forehead. The kitsune hitai-ate was shining far too brightly for it to be natural.

"Alright, drop your pencils!" The jounin up front barked out; many of the chuunin, used to obeying her orders without question, let their own writing utensils fall to the floor. Sheepishly they picked up their pencils and mumbled apologies to their commander.

"Now, for the last question! I'm going to give all of you a warning, since I'm so nice," Ino said sarcastically before she continued on, "No, actually I'm just repeating the orders from the Chuunin-Jounin Exam Council. Anyways, the warning is this: If you get this question wrong then you can never become a chuunin." She paused, to let the expected exclamations of disbelief to stop, "But the good news is, you can raise your hand and disqualify yourself and your teammates and in another six months you can take the exam again. Also, if you get this question right then you get to continue onto the second part of the exam. Any takers?"

Ino let the children think it over; there would be some who would raise their hands… she could sense their fear. Then, before her icy blue eyes a hand popped up.

"I- I'm sorry guys." A brown haired boy with 'Jr.' tattooed on his forehead mumbled through a blue pacifier in his mouth. He stood up out of his chair, but his head remained down in shame.

"It's alright Koenma," Another brown-haired Taki-nin, this time female, comforted the boy as they headed towards the door and their other teammate.

"Yes, Keiko is right, and we can always take the next exam." A bright blue-haired kunoichi placed a hand on her teammate's shoulders and led them out of the classroom's doors. Botan looked back as the doors shut and waved at her fellow Taki-gakure nins, a sad smile on her face; the Chuunin Exams lasted for several weeks and it would be a while before they saw each other.

"No one else?" The blonde jounin asked again, her eyes fixed on **_HIS_** look alike. If it were really **_HIM_** then he would do that "I'm not afraid" speech. The clock on the wall above her ticked on and nothing happened; maybe because besides that one team, there were no other takers. "Okay then," Ino sighed in defeat, "Congratulations, you have all passed the first part of the exam!" She tried putting on a smile to lighten the mood, but after scaring the wits out of the genin it looked more like she was baring her teeth at them.

"What about the rest of the questions? Don't they matter?" A Kusa-nin kunoichi with dark blue hair asked, holding up her test paper as proof.

"Yes, they do. This wasn't a test to see how much you knew, but how well you could gather information from an enemy." The jounin explained her smile dropping as her voice went into a more serious tone, "This last question was to weed out the cowards, a chuunin- no any ninja cannot be any good if they are not willing to take risks. Again I congratulate you, and now it is time to send you to the second part of the te-"

"Hold on… please." A glasses wearing man made his way through the doors, he handed Ino a paper with a red 'Fire' kanji the back.

"Ah, okay, I'll head over there now… can you finish up for me Udon-san?" Paper in hand, Ino opted for jumping and blurring out the window instead of through the doors.

The sleepy brunette shook himself awake enough to say, "Due to some… problems, we will add another month before the second part of the Exam. For foreign ninja who have passed the inn fees will be paid for, and welcome to Konoha. You are excused." As if it had taken all of the life out of him, Udon then collapsed into the chair, mumbling equations.

The test participants then made their way out of the room, some following the blonde jounin's example and others choosing the safer route through the building. Kyuubi and Naruto remained seated, glaring at Sanosuke as he politely sped towards his teammates, and waiting for Natsuko to come over. The demon could see his ex-container's fist shaking out of anger.

"You could meet us in the inn room once you're done at Ichiraku." The once kitsune king suggested before the blonde bolted from the room. "Don't worry," Kyuubi then mumbled to himself annoyed, "I'll explain it to Natsuko." His gaze then turned toward the young hanyou, "And plus, there's something us _demons_ must discuss alone."

* * *

Ichiraku was a ramen stand. It was also a haven for a young Naruto, a place where he was not kicked out of and a place where he could eat in peace. Not to mention that ramen was also Naruto's favorite food. But, unfortunately for him, it happened to be in Konoha.

_Damn you Konoha for taking everything good away from me._ Naruto growled in his head. It was also the one place where he could sulk properly.

But the thing that the 13-year-deceased ninja did not know was that it had also become the favorite ramen stand of certain Konoha nins. And so, when the blonde boy walked through the rough cloth of the stand he was surprised to see bubblegum pink hair.

"Sakura-chan, here are your bowls of miso ramen." A middle aged, and yet still cute, brunette woman announced, placing two bowls of steaming soup in front of the other female.

"They're not both for me, silly Ayame-san. One is for Naruto of course." The speaking woman turned her head and Naruto, still frozen at the entrance, did not catch the ramen stand owner's eyes become watery. To the only male, Sakura's head seemed to be in slow motion; the pink curtain of hair swinging back and her still large green eyes becoming visible. But the turning stopped as her head faced only the stool next to her, where a small hand-sewn doll sat. "Isn't that right Naruto?"

"Ah, o-of course Sakura-chan," Now Ayame was trembling as she strained to control her tears. "Oh, it seems like we have a new customer!" Using the real Naruto as a distraction and plastering a bright smile onto her face the chocolate eyed woman went to the kitchen to make another bowl of miso ramen.

Now, finally taking notice to the other customer's presence Sakura turned around completely. Her emerald eyes piercing into Naruto's own, she motioned to the stool to her other side. "Would you like to sit next to me?"

Nodding, the Kitsune ninja numbly walked toward and sat in the seat.

"Amazing, isn't it Naruto? He looks just like you!" Sakura giggled to the doll in the other seat beside her. Curious, the blonde boy peeked over to take a closer look at the doll. It was worn and faded with age, but he could recognize blonde hair, blue eyes, tan skin, a Konoha hitai-ate and his trademark orange jumpsuit. This was supposed to be him?

"Um, oba-san?" Naruto started out, "You do know that that isn't the real Na-" but he was quickly stopped by a black gloved hand.

"Be quiet, brat." A kunoichi, clad in pink, hissed to the shorter ninja. "To her, to Sakura, that is **_HIM_**. So keep your mouth shut. Or I'll make sure you'll never be able to talk again." Holding a kunai, that wasn't there just a second ago, uncomfortably close to his face Naruto nodded.

"Tenten, don't," A near emotionless voice warned, a pale hand gripping the woman's pink shoulder. "We'll be late for the meeting with the Rokudaime."

"Neji-kun, Tenten-chan, when did you come?" Sakura, coming out of her one-sided conversation with the doll, smiled at the two ANBU members behind her. "Will you join, me and Naruto and um… I don't think I've caught your name yet." She looked at the other customer next to her.

"It's Touru. Shippou Touru." Naruto said avoiding eye contact with the long-haired male. He hadn't known Tenten that well, but Neji had become close to being a friend.

"Will you join me, Naruto, and Touru-kun for ramen?" Sakura, still oblivious to the tension, asked.

"No, I'm afraid Tenten and I must decline your offer. Perhaps at another time." Neji said politely, before leading himself and his wife out of the small ramen stand.

"Yeah, we'll take a rain check." Tenten rephrased cheerfully and waved goodbye at the pink haired woman.

"Sorry, for the wait, here's a bowl of miso ramen. On the house," Ayame reappeared, another bowl and a pair of chopsticks in her hands.

"No, that's okay… I have to be somewhere." Running through the hanging cloth that spelled out Ichiraku, Naruto left. The sky was beginning to turn orange and it swallowed up the orange wearing boy so there was nothing left of him.

* * *

"Now that we have all assembled I would like to bring this meeting to order." Konohamaru rang through the Hokage office, filled with Konoha ninja of different shapes and sizes.

"Well, what is it? We don't have all day, ya know." Kiba Inuzuka, with a rather large Akamaru at his side, complained.

"Yes, it is rare that you call all of the Council here." Hinata's light voice floated in the room, it was one of the many qualities that made her the Hyuuga clan leader.

"I needed all of the Fallen Leaves to handle this very important matter." When Konohamaru became Rokudaime Hokage he had made other changes to the gakure's government. He had dissolved the Council of Elders and in its place set up the Council of the Fallen Leaves; mostly consisted of eleven ninja who had put him into power. It also included three chuunin and Ebisu, who had become more loyal to his charge. "I am sure you have heard of the rumors on the Legendary Sannin?"

"You mean the one that says that they've trained a team and entered them into the Chuunin Exams? Or the one that says that they're actually the parents of the Yondaime Hokage?" Choji asked jokingly, earning the large-built man several glares.

"The first one," Shikamaru yawned lazily; he was actually paying very close attention though. "What about it though, afraid they'll beat your son or something?"

"No, it is more serious than that!" The Rokudaime snapped while at the same time Moegi yelled out "There's no way Yukio would lose so easily!"

"Is it this young lady 'Natsuko'?" Rock Lee asked; he had gotten less… weird after having a family, "My youthful daughter Haruki, has told her ever-loving father her thoughts before I was torn away from her." Okay, maybe not that much less.

"Yes, it is." Konohamaru regained his composure. "They come from Kitsune-gakure."

"I've never heard of-" Began his orange-haired wife, Moegi.

"That's because it in the Land of the Spirits." He continued on; "As in, they're not human… as in they're demons!" Silence responded back… literally.

"Do you have evidence?" Shino, whose acted as if his very existence depended on silence, spoke, sending shivers down many of the member's backs.

"No, that is why I need the Fallen Leaves. We must make sure they aren't demons!" The Hokage, recovering yet again from the meeting, banged his fist on the table.

"And if they are?" Hinata voiced the thoughts of the rest of the Council.

"Then we must be prepared."

* * *

**A/N: Okay… I'm going to skip the Naruto words and Natsuko Ideas bit because frankly… I don't really think you guys need them… I realized how much space they took and how… stupid they were so they're gone… Sorry about the whole not updating for four months thing again… But this time I have a valid excuse: My computers (both of them) crashed… on the same day… so I had to redo this whole chapter when I had a new computer which was like… a barely month ago and remember what the heck was it that I wanted in the chapter… Okay so everything confusing (like Sakura and the little doll and the Fallen Leaves which I had to include because I love the song ) will be explained later on in the story (which is another reason why I didn't like the Natsuko Ideas bit)… so thank you for reading and please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **_**AND**_** (thanks to a reviewer) I do not own any of the Prince of Tennis, Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu Yu Hakusho, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Sailor Moon, Inuyasha, Code Lyoko, and any other cartoon/anime characters I might have borrowed.**

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

**darthme1011, Uchiha-boy, lindsy, Navigator101, ****KyuubiWolff, Bobboky, BermyChicks, choclatbandit, shankstar89, teridragon**

* * *

The sun had hidden completely, revealing the twinkling stars and the small sliver of moon that had been hiding during the day. The night sky was still the same, whether training in some foreign country, planning in the Land of the Spirits, or just lying on a grassy hill in Konoha. 

"It's relaxing… isn't it? Laying outside, looking at the stars." Natsuko's blue eyes welled up with tears as she spoke to no one but the stray foxes seeking her company. She had never felt so… alone. But that's the way she had wanted it… or at least that's what she told Kyuubi in their argument earlier.

--

_Earlier that Day_

"Natsuko, that youkai," The red-head started off, leaning against a tree of the Konoha forest. The blonde jinchuuriki was sitting attentively at his feet, like a child waiting for their grandparent to tell a story.

"Yes, Kyuu-sama?" Natsuko looked up at him innocently, not suspecting what would soon happen.

"That youkai was from you. Am I right?" The demon did not ask, only stated. "Tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened, Kyuu-sama." She chirped reassuringly, but it was painfully obvious that she was lying.

"I know during the month of planning in Kitsune we had said that the chances of the seals breaking were very slim," It would have been funny to an outsider, to see a boy that barely looked like a teenager lecture in a deep voice to a girl the same age. "But it was still possible. Do Naruto and I need to return and call off the mission? If this will distract you, or harm you in any way, we can easily return. You don't have to do this, Natsuko."

Kyuubi had meant for his voice to be sympathetic and kind; but Natsuko could only hear cold facts and blame, trying to make her guilty. "No. I don't need you to come back. I can solve this on my own, really." The blonde girl stood up, hands held in front of her as if stopping the offers her teammate had made.

"Natsuko, you are a valuable hanyou. Many shinobi have put their time and effort into helping you reach your potential. The kitsune cannot afford to lose their hime because she wants to be stubborn. Your father and I want to do what is best for y-"

"Is that all I am to you?" Anger flashed through her voice like lightning, but it remained constant like thunder, "I'm some kind of project that everyone's played with? Am I some kind of rag doll with bits and pieces from humans and some bits and pieces from the kitsune?" Her volume rose higher as she fed fuel to her own fire.

"No, Natsuko, you are misunderstanding; you need to calm do-"

"Well then, KYUUBI-SAMA, you'll just have to be disappointed then. Won't you?" The roots of her hair stood on end, had they been any shorter all of her hair would've defied gravity.

"Do not say my name, Natsuko." Kyuubi hissed in a cold manner, which would have frozen any others but not this particular blonde. He had meant for it as a warning, to remind her that they were undercover, but his tone had made Natsuko interpret it incorrectly.

"Well I'm sorry Your Highness; this lowly jinchuuriki brat has overstepped her boundaries." She mockingly bowed low, her voice bitter, "I'll excuse myself first. I'll be at the inn before midnight, so don't bother following." Natsuko turned quickly, attempting to hit Kyuubi with her blonde hair, "And no, that wasn't _my _youkai… I'm human." She jumped and blurred away to the lonesome hill on the outskirts of Konoha that she now occupied.

--

"What's wrong with me?" A calmer, remorseful, Natsuko asked one of the kits that had wandered closer to her. She had tried to stay angry, tried to make her fury justified, but the kunoichi could only see her foolish misunderstandings. "I was never like this in other countries… it must be this filthy Konoha air that I've been breathing. Or… or stress? Nah, stress has never gotten to me before." Petting the head of the nearest fox kit- a brown one with a tan ruffle around its neck and tip of its tail- the hanyou sighed deeply. Unlike many kunoichi her age she was a fighter, not a 'lover', and had absolutely no knowledge or tact for emotions. "I guess I'm just-"

"Going through puberty?" A light voice, with a slight mixture of humor, finished Natsuko's sentence- causing the fox kits to bark at the sudden appearance of an enemy while their kitsune mistress jumped up and slid into a basic taijutsu stance… only to have unknown powder thrown into her face and a tarp net pinning her back to the ground. "Just relax," The feminine voice attempted to sooth the struggling blonde, "It is inevitable."

As if the words were a trigger, the hanyou stopped struggling and her breathing calmed… though it was probably the stun powder that made her unconscious.

* * *

"Target B has been acquired and dropped at Base Gamma," The brunette chuunin reported. His superior, a wild-looking man sitting on top of a large white god, ignored him. Nearly ten minutes passed by as the younger man sighed and clenched his teeth repeating his sentence again, "Target B has been acquired and brought to Base Gamma… sir." 

"Damn, took ya long enough, brat." Kiba smirked at the frowning chuunin, "Don't take it too personally, brat, I insult everyone." He drawled out, paying more attention to scratching behind Akamaru's ears than to his Fallen Leaves subordinate.

"Except for Hinata-san," He retorted before putting on a smirk of his own. Without abnormal hair/eye colors, tattoos, or weapons he seemed like a normal boring Konoha chuunin. His brown hair was spiky- his bangs kept out of his face by his hitai-ate- his eyes were dark in color, his build was normal- he slouched a bit, to the annoyance to his mother who claimed his back would be stuck like that forever- and his demeanor was that of a confident, but not too confident, soldier who could follow commands. The only slight irregularities to the Konoha mold was: his clothes were blue instead of green, he wore an unneeded band-aid under his left eye, and he was constantly wearing a headset- two earphones and an attached microphone near his mouth. He was deaf.

"Geez, Wataru-gaki, you take out the fun in everything. Ya might as well be Neji-teme or Shino." Rolling his eyes, Kiba sat up straight and barked into the hand-held radio, "Bee's at Grandma, over."

A static-laced response from the radio was confused and annoyed, "Kiba, that was the worse attempt of a joke I have ever heard or you're really a dumb mutt." Chouji's voice was also muffled by his habitual mouth-stuffing.

"Don't call me dumb ya fa-"

"Chouji-san," Wataru tested out his headphones connection to the Fallen Leaves radio channel. While the necessary machine allowed him to hear sounds around him; getting to close to any other machine that emitted audio frequencies would cause his own to either short circuit and explode or put him into a vegetable state. "Target B is at Base Gamma."

"Right, that's good." An empty pause.

"The red one is at the ANBU holding center," The calm boy refused to call it what it really was- a dungeon. "You and Ino-san are supposed to question-" because it was inhumane to say interrogate, "him."

"Right," Some more chewing sounds were heard over the air-waves, "How did you get him to come with you anyways?" Chouji, as great of an ambassador as he was, did not bother to mask his incredulity at the fact of a chuunin capturing a 'demon'.

"I asked." An empty pause.

"Oh man, that's rich!" Kiba, who had nearly been forgotten, barked out his laughter while his 'big-boned' comrade also chuckled between bites. "See? That's the kind of humor ya need to stop being such a stiff. Hoo boy, but seriously, you're kiddin' right?"

"No."

* * *

Sanosuke bent his head down, scowling at the floor and an angry flush coloring his face. Such feelings were below his father and his sister, if they could pull off being emotion-less then so could he! However, he couldn't do it. He couldn't be heartless like his father; no matter how similar their looks were, they weren't the same. 

'_I can't believe how mean Father was to 'kaa-chan!' _He thought to himself, as he kneeled in front of the Uchiha clan's head.

'_**Yeah! That jerk! How dare he make hahaoya cry! Just 'cause she brought her doll with her to the table again.' **_Sanosuke's 'inner' ranted on, bringing back the memories of what had happened earlier that evening.

His mother had always been big on celebrations: birthdays, holidays, et cetera. So when she found out that both of her children made it past the first part of the Chuunin Exam what better to do than have a celebratory dinner? Of course, that meant needing to go to the market to shop for groceries… which meant passing by Ichiraku Ramen… which meant _having_ to go inside and eat, because a certain blonde doll just _had_ to have ramen… which meant seeing that young boy who looked too similar her doll for her to just leave alone.

It had distracted her, not to extent that she forgot about the dinner, but she had forgotten that the tattered doll was not allowed in front of the Uchiha patriarch. She made an extra plate and sat the doll behind it, as if expecting it to eat. When the orange doll didn't start eating, because it _couldn't_, the pink-haired woman started to talk to it. Which wasn't the best idea, considering the doll represented everything long passed… everything that a certain Konoha traitor had strived to forget.

Needless to say, the raven-haired man was mad… and it didn't help that his delusional wife proceeded to ignore his fury and opted instead to regale her children with tales of Team 7's first and only Chuunin Exam. It was the first time the Uchiha twins had heard about their parent's past… it was also the first time they had seen their father yell and their mother use a jutsu. Unfortunately, the cherry blossom-haired woman's natural expertise- genjutsu- was ineffective against the eldest Sharingan master.

The details had blurred in his memories, but Sanosuke knew that his father had sent a particularly sharp insult at the doll's inspiration. Then his mother had yelled that she regretted falling in love with his father and stormed out of the dining room, tears threatening to fall. That wasn't the worst of it, though; the older Uchiha male immediately went back to his emotionless mask… as if he hadn't broken it and sent a normally strong woman into tears… causing the young teen to want to leave his father's presence as soon as possible.

"Father, I shall retire early tonight." Sanosuke despised how, even if he was furious at his father he had to remain the cool-tempered, polite, compliant son. Through clenched teeth the heir to the small Uchiha clan stood and turned past his pink-haired sister kneeling to leave the room. He rushed down the dark hallway of the Uchiha household towards his mother's room, hoping to comfort her.

Standing in front of his mother's room, his hand paused before reaching the door's handle. Although he knew his mother was only talking to a doll, Sanosuke never interrupted her one-sided conversations… they meant a lot to her… even if they did shame and anger her husband.

"Oh Naruto, I know Sasuke-kun was mean- and in front of the children during dinner," Sanosuke could hear sobs interrupt his mother's usually perfect voice. "It was a special dinner, too, to celebrate them getting past the first part of the Chuunin Exam."

A pause, what would have been the doll's turn to respond if it had been alive.

"Naruto, a special dinner is not Ichiraku Ramen; and plus we were their earlier today… remember? When we met the blonde boy who looked like you. Touru Shippou… what a strange name. Though I suppose Naruto isn't normal either." His mother giggled, and the boy could almost see her hugging the small plushy.

Sanosuke's shaking hand fell to his side, now feeling more dejected than when he left his father and sister. Who was this Naruto that he could make his mother smile so quickly? Even if it wasn't really him, and only a genjutsu his mother had willingly forced herself in, this blonde orange-loving doll did a better job than Sanosuke could ever hope to do. He was a failure; a failure of an heir to his father, a failure of a ninja to his sister, and now… a failure to his loving mother at doing the one thing he though he did best: making her happy.

* * *

After fleeing from his first love and his haven of ramen, Naruto had wandered around the Konoha forests. He did not want to intrude on what he had thought was Kyuubi's way of helping his daughter. 

'_Yes, I knew it was youkai in the room… I'm not a complete idiot.' _Naruto stopped his stroll in the moonlight, before realizing what he had just done and sighed. _'I guess maybe I am.'_ Thinking that Kyuubi was still inside of his head… or stomach… and expecting a response.

'_That youkai was Natsuko's, there was no other kitsune in their besides Kyuubi… and I know it wasn't him. But Natsuko's human side was in control… we made sure of that. Right? And why would her demon side take over now? The only other time she had taken over was in that inugami incident… but that was only in self defense. It's probably something Kyuubi would be able to deal with better than I would.'_ As his thought train sped down the invisible tracks of regret Naruto sighed.

"I'm a horrible father, Ichiko. My whole life had been devoted to becoming stronger… to become the best ninja in the world… to survive in Kitsune-Gakure… to find a family that I thought didn't exist… and now that I have a family, or at least part of one, what do I do? I push her to other people so I wouldn't have to deal with her." He now looked up towards the heavens… where he hoped his wife was watching.

"That's not even the worse part, Ichiko," He voiced out what he thought the deceased kitsune princess would be disappointed at him for. "I'm using our daughter to gain revenge on the cursed village. Using others for revenge… now I'm sounding like Sasuke-teme. What… did I become?"

* * *

_The blonde boy –no, he was growing up to be a fine young man- stood alone in the clearing. He was confident nobody would look for him; the only one who could possibly be concerned about him was… 'busy' elsewhere. He sighed, his shoulders lowering slightly, but otherwise there was no movement in the ninja's body. Compared to when he was a younger baby-ish boy of 12, his body was now longer and thinner –growing into the proper body of an assassin- but compared to other boys his age he was still small. _

_The lowering sun, painting the sky with the colors of fire, also cast a long shadow across the empty clearing of grass and dirt. It was a natural effect, but the swirling, menacing shapes the boy's shadow had twisted into would make anyone question their sanity. It showed the true power the genin possessed, one far greater than any human should have… but it was not his to control._

_It was why he was stood there, facing the orange sun, letting its heat warm his face. It was how he meditated, how he calmed himself from the excitement of the day and allowed his mind to wander… It was also how he talked to his demon resident. The seal was weakening, his resolve was weakening, his patience was weakening, and his love for Konoha was near extinction. Not that the words of Kyuubi didn't fuel his justified hatred and anger for the villagers._

"_I'm tired, furball, this training with Ero-sennin… he's only doing this because I remind him of the Yondaime of that damned village." Naruto fell backwards, landing in the soft patch of grass to look up at the darkening skies._

"_**THEN LEAVE, BRAT. YOU WASTE BOTH MINE AND YOUR POTENTIAL BY STAYING WITH THAT WRINKLED PERVERT." **__The demon lord no longer held contempt for his jinchuuriki. After all, they both shared the same life… and though he would never admit it, Kyuubi had developed a small- practically nonexistent- caring attitude towards Naruto._

"_Where would I go? To my nonexistent family?" The boy snorted to himself, an angry smile on his face, "Or better yet, to the village of Konoha haters?" _

"_**NO, YOU HAVEN'T BECOME STRONG ENOUGH YET. YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE YOUKAI."**_

_Naruto's cerulean eyes snapped open, Kyuubi had answered seriously meaning… "There's an actual village like that? I was just joking!"_

"_**I HAVE AN ORIGIN, FOOLISH HUMAN. THERE ARE VILLAGES FOR EACH DEMON LORD, BUT IN THE LAND OF THE SPIRITS YOUR POWER- DESPITE ME BEING SEALED INSIDE OF YOU- WOULD NOT EVEN BE ENOUGH TO ALLOW YOU TO BREATHE, MUCH LESS TRAIN."**_

"_Train? Train for what?" A ghost of a heartfelt smile began to appear on his face, he had been given new hope; a new goal, and possibly a place to belong._

"_**TRAIN TO BECOME THE STRONGEST NINJA IN THE WORLD."**_

_And thus began a new chapter in Naruto Uzumaki's eventful life._

* * *

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, the way all ninja traveled, Naruto- a rare example of the living dead- made his way back to the inn, hours later than what was expected. He was a lone blurring shadow of yellow, orange, and blue in the Konoha skies… or so he thought. Had Naruto been able to shake himself out of his thoughts he would have easily been able to sense the second ninja trailing after him. 

After having his moment of self-realization, the ex-jinchuuriki was able to look past his revulsion and anger. The blonde had a smile on his face. He knew what he was going to do… he was going to apologize… he was going to take his daughter away from this horrible place… he was going to protect her from the horrors of ninja life… and he was going to tell her that he loved her… that she was the best daughter a man could hope to have… and he was being completely cheesy.

"No self-respecting ninja would do that." The blonde muttered to himself. It was so difficult to make a decision when he no longer had Kyuubi's wisdom in his head. But he wasn't helpless, far from it actually, since he _was_ the strongest ninja in the world! But now without Kyuubi's presence, which he was bound to at birth, Naruto was empty, lost.

But he also felt free. Free like he had never felt for years. He now had his own body, to move again; to do more than just watch behind the cage of his daughter's matching blue eyes. Watching as both his past human and demon sensei gave her knowledge and jutsu, doing what should've been his greatest mission in life… raising his daughter. His daughter: who had been manipulated and controlled by his thoughts of revenge. He had imprisoned her with his malicious goals like he had imprisoned himself into her soul. He had denied her, his closest family, his only worldly possession: _freedom_.

_He_ became a ninja because he _wanted _to. _He_ traveled the world because he _wanted_ to. _He_ made his own choices in his life, which had ended years ago, and was now forcing the consequences onto his only relative. The burdens of power, hatred, and revenge were supposed to be his… not hers.

Naruto sped faster, the shadow following close behind, and put a determined look on his face. He would give his daughter her freedom, and support her the whole time… even if it would mean accepting the fact that he was no longer alive. Spotting the kitsune room's window, Naruto easily slipped through and slid quietly to a stop on the inn's wooden floor. Smiling and bowing towards the bed, like a conductor after a concert, he looked up to speak to his kunoichi daughter… Saying he was surprised when he saw an unknown Konoha nin in the otherwise empty room would be an understatement.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

The masked ninja's one visible eye widened before responding in a monotone voice. "No, more like a reflection of him." Storing away the information the blonde genin had revealed, the silver-haired chuunin stepped closer before pulling up on the slanted hitai-ate. _**"Sharingan!"**_

Naruto tried to avert his gaze from the so-called "Kakashi-reflection" but he was too slow. Struggling against the genjutsu, his weakest point, the blonde was able to hear more of the chuunin's voice before passing out.

"Shikamaru-san," Clearly the attacker was not talking to the genjutsu victim, but instead to the strategist of the village, "Target A has been captured… Also, he knows about Kakashi-sensei… Maybe he knows about _**HIM**_."

Naruto put a smirk on his face, which should've alarmed the chuunin had their attention not been elsewhere, _'Or worse… maybe I am __**HIM**__.'_

* * *

**

* * *

Natsuko Ideas****: ((Yes I promised not to do these anymore… but I felt like needed to explain some things)) **

**Ichiko: As I read over my previous chapters I realized I hardly mentioned Natsuko's mother… who is usually a big part of a teenage girl's life… and… you know a huge part of said woman's HUSBAND… of course I had to put her in Naruto's self-esteem journey to show that Natsuko was not just some kind of one night stand gone wrong or an arranged marriage child… Naruto **_**did**_** love Ichiko… but his whole hatred of Konoha (which they fully deserve... which is why I wrote it) somewhat blinded him from putting more important things into his letter on what to do with Natsuko (see chapter 1)… also he didn't know that Ichiko was going to die until right before she actually died… so yes, she comes up again later on… but that's **_**later**_** on… and at the rate I'm going who knows how long that'll take? ****I NEED A BETA!!!!**

**Uchiha twins: The Uchiha twins are important to the story… well okay they're more like a very large subplot… well not the **_**largest**_** subplot per say… but I mean… pretty huge subplot there… and after all they **_**are**_** practically Team 7 reincarnated except swapped personalities… yeah… so as far they're domestic lives it sucks… I mean with that moody jerk for a father (though don't worry he **_**does **_**get better… eventually) whose life wouldn't suck? But they're perfectionist father and delusional mother does make a nice situation for personal growth… in my crazy world… ****I NEED A BETA!!!!**

**Sanosuke: Why **_**yes**_**, he **_**is**_** supposed to be an insecure pushover… what else should he be? Yeah, I'm laying the whole angst-failure-self-esteem issues on pretty thick… but I figure I could blame it on puberty… right? And also his sister's a genius… but oh well… and yes, he is a (it pains me to type this since I'm horrible at romantic writing more than my usual horrible writing) **_**love interest**_** for Natsuko, because the whole "fathers are rivals and you can't" bit never gets old… and also I'm a secret fan of Sasuke/female-Naruto but I mean… how many people **_**aren't**_**? Okay then… enough of my little rant… read below… ****I NEED A BETA!!!!**

* * *

**A/N: Okay… erm… hi guys… I know I'm a jerkwad for not updating and updating poorly written… blah… and I don't even have a good excuse… It's just… I lost my love for Naruto a couple months ago because of the whole Shippuden series… and then I went into this strange Detective Conan phase… then I had to get back into the Naruto phase but my brain kept coming up with not Second Taile stuff… though it was really good… maybe a sequel... Hey, I said I didn't have a good excuse… didn't mean I **_**didn't **_**have any excuse… **

**But anyways… yeah… this chapter was supposed to tie it to the next sequence… but I haven't quite gotten it yet… it wouldn't flow quite so well… And then the whole dropping out of Naruto part… so everything's all choppy… and then my brain went separate ways for each little section… like "Should Sanosuke be rude or polite to his jerk of a father?" Then my mind went separate paths for each possibility… and my brain wasn't entirely focused… like this… yeah… anyways… ****I NEED A BETA!!!!**

**I NEED A BETA!!!!**** I would usually ask some of my more fanfiction-experienced friends… but none of them like Naruto (probably because when I introduced it to them it was already released in English and it's all… ewww…) so they can't really follow my ideas… so I would like someone who can keep up with my craziness (or stupidity as my sisters like to call it) and can keep up an internet conversation without leaving in the middle of nowhere… so yes… review please…**


	10. Interlude

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. _AND_ (thanks to a reviewer) I do not own any of the Prince of Tennis, Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu Yu Hakusho, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Sailor Moon, Inuyasha, Code Lyoko, and any other cartoon/anime characters I might have borrowed.**

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

**Cyber-Porygon**

**Bobboky**

**SumikaAmayaOblivion**

**Ero-kun**

**Twilight-Phantom66**

**OceanDrop  
**

**craziness101  
**

**Chris ShadowMoon  
**

**Raye Sun**

* * *

**Interlude: 100 moments  
**

**1. Introduction**

"Natsuko, Kurama. Kurama, Natsuko. You guys have to get along." The seven-tailed brunette kitsune watched them, the small red-head and the even smaller blonde. They stared at each other, blue clashing with green, for roughly five minutes before Kurama reached out… and scratched Natsuko. The blonde, in response, jumped on him and tugged on his hair.

The teenagers looked at each other, sky clashing with earth: "Dude, you were such a brat."

**2. Love**

"L is for the way you _look_ at me… O is you're the only _one_ for me… V is _very, very_ extraordinary… E is…" The old man warbled on stage, shooting perverted looks every once in a while into the mostly female audience. And his blonde "granddaughter" in the corner could only hide her face in embarrassment as her friends laughed at the crazy sannin's antics on stage. She loved him anyways.

**3. Light**

Some people, according to legend, walked in the light. But she didn't need that, she could make her own.

**4. Dark**

Sometimes, when she was dreaming, she would run towards the shadows. Not to prove her courage, but because she would rather be blissfully unaware of what the monster in her nightmares looked like.

**5. Rot**

For Naruto, the moment they chose Sasuke over him, he felt his hopes and dreams shatter. For Tsunade, she let hers rot.

**6. Break**

The first time she had a toy break, she cried until Ji-sama fixed it. The first time she had a bone break, she cried until Ba-sama healed it. The first time she has her heart broken… well, let's just say she's not going to be the one crying.

**7. Heaven**

Natsuko wished that her mother had gone to heaven, if such a place existed. But she bitterly laughed that idea away; her mother was a princess of kitsune- demons didn't go to heaven.

**8. Away**

She turned her head eastward, into the deep forests of Fire Country, towards the one place where she couldn't go.

**9. Cut**

Ichiyo was always protected by the sand, as was his father, so he had no idea what pain actually meant. But one time, he had seen his Natsuko-onee-san pull a kunai that was meant for him out of her arm. It was the first time he cried from a cut.

**10. Breathe**

Natsuko knew that to do fire jutsu, you had to breathe. Natsuko knew that to do water jutsu, you held your breath. So what did you do when your face was on fire and you were drowning in someone's eyes?

**11. Memory**

Shizune knew something was wrong when she woke up one morning and Natsuko told Tsunade-sama that she looked a lot younger twenty years ago.

**12. Insanity**

When Natsuko heard a voice in her head the first time she didn't mind, even if it was a tad bit violent… but when she heard _three_ voices, she was pretty sure she would go insane.

**13. Misfortune**

It was October thirteenth, and it was a Friday… so why was Ba-sama actually winning? And… were those women flirting with Ji-sama? "WHEN AM I GETTING TRAINED?"

**14. Smile**

Sometimes, it hurt to see Natsuko so happy, because Tsunade couldn't help seeing another whiskered blonde kid with the exact same cheery fox grin.

**15. Silence**

Sometimes, silence wasn't golden, as Jiraiya watched Natsuko hold back sobs, as they buried yet another of her friends who had been killed on duty.

**16. Spit**

"… Did you just beat that chuunin?"

"Yes…"

"With your _spit_?"

**17. Blood**

The first time Naruto has seen his daughter wounded through the cage in her mind, it was very hard not to cringe in pain. It is still difficult for him to remember that, while she is blood of his blood, it's not actually _his blood._

**18. Under**

She rather liked being a young, blonde kunoichi. It made the astonished faces people made after she kicked someone's a- _butt_- a lot more satisfying. She loved being underestimated.

**19. Gray**

Shinobi and demons were neither good nor evil. They were gray. So what did that make her?

**20. Fortitude**

She was determined to master Rasengan, and he was fine with that. But when Jiraiya found her passed out, half in a stream at night, from chakra exhaustion, he decided fortitude was a stupid word anyways.

**21. War**

If you took the genin in the room for the first part of the Chuunin exam, and told them that their test was to go to war (Konoha versus everyone else) everyone would have failed. It would not have been a war; it would have been a _slaughter_.

**22. Mother**

When Kyuubi looks at his first ever ninja team, he realizes that none of them ever had a mother. And it hurts.

**23. Distasteful**

He could feel the tension as if it were bricks. "What do you think we should do today, Naruto?"

"Sakura, stop talking to that stupid doll."

"You're right, Naruto, we should find better company. Sasuke-kun is so _mean_." And she walked out the door towards the ramen stand.

Sanosuke feels a bad taste in his mouth, but it's not until later does he realize it was jealousy- that his mom could so openly defy his father that way.

**24. Want**

It was wrong, and they would get in trouble, and there was no way it was going to work out… but it felt so good.

"Do you have the whipped cream?"

She smiled as she handed the whipped cream over to Tetsuki, who used it to make a mustache on Keitaro's face and finish up the prank. Girls just want to have fun.

**25. Lurking**

It was silent and still, using the shadows to its advantage. It watched its prey carefully, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

"KURAMA, GIVE ME BACK MY DOLL… OR I'LL EAT YOUR LIVER!"

Kurama was _such_ a bad hunter.

**26. Europe**

"You're going where?"

"Europe."

"Where's that?"

Natsuko had no idea what Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, Jeremie, and Aelita meant when they said they had to go to _school in Europe_.

**27. Foreign**

Konoha had shut down nearly all flow of information after Naruto defected, except for the Chuunin Exam. So when the exam started, it was no big surprise that the natives and the foreigners were at odds… they were just so _strange._

**28. Sorrow (continuation of 15. Silence)**

As Natsuko felt the Ji-sama's eye fall on her, she turned towards the family of her now deceased friend. _I have no idea what sorrow is_. But then again, she really didn't want to know.

**29. Urban**

"They do _what_?"

She decided she would rather be a low-tech ninja girl than those civilians- why would they rather be driven in a _car_ when they could walk to where they needed to go?

**30. Rain**

She decided that the weather in Ame-gakure _sucked_. But the sparring partners, namely those "tennis geek" Seigaku boys, did not.

**31. Flower**

Haruki knew that her father meant well, but if he spoke _one more time_ about her "Feminine Flower of Youth" in front of her teammates she was going to… _tell her mother._

**32. Night**

Despite her name, Hinata preferred the nighttime. It was during this time she could pretend she was young again and that her first love hadn't left Konoha.

**33. Wrath**

Were there such things as the seven deadly sins, Sakuno would admit to one; surprisingly, not Pride. _No_, as she looked down on her brother's failures and reported them to her father, _it is Wrath_.

**34. Moon**

Once, when she was in Kusa-gakure, Natsuko saw Ami Mizuno, Rei Hino, and Makoto Kino talking to a black cat with a crescent on its forehead. Later, when she saw them staring up at the moon with sad expressions on their faces, she would hear them murmur about a rabbit.

**35. Walk**

_**Taking that walk around Konoha was probably the best thing I ever did.**_And when Sanosuke remembers the blonde kunoichi's face, he agrees with his Inner self.

**36. Precious**

A child is the most precious person on earth to a parent… luckily for Naruto; it is never too late to realize that.

**37. See**

Out of curiosity, Sanosuke asks Tenji what it's like to use the Byakugan. Tenji simply replies that it's not what he _can_ see, but what he _can't_ that matters.

**38. Abandoned**

He can't really remember what happened, but he knows he was probably left to die as a baby. When Natsuko-onee-san found him and named him Ichiyo, he knew he abandoned all hopelessness.

**39. Dream**

She doesn't know what's worse, she thinks as she runs from the mob of violent and angry Konoha villagers, knowing this is a normal dream or knowing it was actually reality.

**40. 4:29 PM**

The only thing she hates about Yuki-gakure is that the sun sets too early.

**41. Orange**

"Why in the world do you like that hideous color?"

The two blondes looked at the demon, before grinning at each other.

"Have you _seen_ your hair?"

"It's like a carrot puked on your head!"

**42. Still**

Despite his mastery over fire jutsu, Sasuke was often called the Ice Prince by his female peers due to exterior. But not even all the fire jutsu in the world could melt the ice around his heart when his once best friend left.

**43. Die**

She stabbed the bandit in the chest, watching as the blood dripped down her arm. She knew the duties of being a ninja, she knew she had done it before, and she knew she was protecting her friends; but she couldn't help the heavy feeling she got in her heart whenever she killed.

**44. Two Roads**

There were two roads Naruto could've gone down when he went training with Ero-sennin. One ended up as the Naruto Shippuden series, the other as a really bad fan-fiction.

**45. Two Guns**

"… one of them is aimed at you; the other is aimed at your friend. Which trigger would you pull?"

"Mine!" A seven-year-old Natsuko answered cheerfully, before stuffing her mouth full of ramen.

"Really?"

"Yeah, wait- what's a gun?"

**46. Drop**

When they were first allowed near the mountain, Natsuko and Kurama would drop rocks off the edge. When they were first learning Divine Attacks, they dropped themselves off the edge. It was fun to fall.

**47. Dirt**

When Natsuko first met Yusuke Urameshi, Hiei Jaganshi, and Kazuma Kuwabara they were "troublemakers, punks, and trash" and they knew it.

"Well, don't make those old hags _right_! Prove them wrong!"

Dirt don't hurt, but words… they make all the difference.

**48. Young**

Once, when they were four or so, Natsuko and Seto Kaiba had met in Kiri-gakure. They were both orphans and they were both bored, so they played a game. They had tied, and it had been fun. They promised to play again. Seven years later, Natsuko came back to find her friend all grown up and too old to play kid's games.

**49. Preservatives**

Tsunade's preservatives were teas, herbs, and ointments. Jiraiya's were women, booze, and his books. Natsuko wasn't a preservative- she was a savior.

**50. Breaking the Rules**

_There __**will **__be a day when they spar fairly,_ Shippou told himself before looking at the gaping hole in the wall of his ruined dojo. He sighed; the two brats were probably out destroying the village with claws, weapons, and Divine Attacks.

**51. Sport**

Natsuko watched the small green ball go back and forth over the net. Neither Ryoma Echizen nor Takeshi Momoshiro was using jutsu, and they honestly looked like they were having fun just running around hitting that stupid ball.

"_This _is what a _sport_ is? I'll just stick to training, thanks."

**52. Old (continuation of 48. Young)**

Dejected, Natsuko turned away from the Kaiba estate only to bump into a short tri-colored haired boy, causing him to drop his load. In apology she bought him lunch (ramen) and asked what he was holding. Turns out, they were card summons of creatures thousands of years old… just like her new friend's (Yugi Mutou) spirit. They played a game and she lost. But she promised she would get better at _Duel Monsters _and beat him. He replied "Not in a billion-gazillion years." Despite his age, he was really just a child at heart.

**53. Desecrate**

When they first arrived in Konoha, Naruto fund it very difficult to _not_ go to Hokage mountain and graffiti the six heads… but when he thought about it harder, he really couldn't dishonor it like that. (The prank, not the mountain.)

**54. Tower**

There was once a time when he wanted this; when he wanted to be Hokage and watch over Konoha from the tall tower. But now that he was here, Konohamaru felt like it was more of a prison.

**55. Need**

"I _need_ you to teach me this jutsu."

"No, you _want_ me to teach you that jutsu."

"No, I _need _you to teach it to me because I _need_ to be able to protect my precious people." At that, Tsunade could not say no.

**56. Biohazard**

When Natsuko put it into perspective, as she looked at a small sign in a hospital they were visiting, she could probably never donate blood. For one, demons didn't need blood transfusions and for the other, well, even demonic _cells_ were too powerful for humans.

**57. Sacrificial (continuation from 24. Want)**

The prank worked better than she thought, it would take _ages_ for Ichiyo to get that make up off, _and_ Keitaro had gotten the blame. Natsuko almost cried from laughter after looking at Keitaro… she was pretty sure Tetsuki was. But then again, if Ichiyo hadn't had near hero-worship for his Natsuko-onee-san, she would pee in her pants too if the silver-haired boy threatened anything relating to a pineapple

**58. Kick in the head**

She hadn't meant it literally, but kicking Kaiba in the head was a good way to deflate his ego… though Jonouchi was probably going to need a medic-nin when Kaiba was through with him.

**59. No Way Out**

"Come on, Keitaro-san, you _promised_."

"Take it like a man, and keep your word."

"And plus, you might actually be less embarrassing to walk around with."

Sabaku no Keitaro _knew_ he was trapped when his teammate (Tetsuki), friend (though he wasn't so sure what Natsuko was now that she was going to go through with this), and his superior (not to mention his aunt was also the Kazekage) had cornered him each carrying some sort of make up case… there was no way out.

**60. Desert (continuation of 30. Rain)**

She decided that the weather in Ame-gakure _did not _suck. _Wind Country _sucked.

**61. Fairy Tale**

The first time Shizune tried telling her a bed-time story, she told Natsuko Cinderella. The blonde immediately replied that Cinderella was stupid: she was obviously physically fit and good with animals. Why didn't she just go all ninja on the evil stepmother's butt?

**62. Voodoo**

When she was younger, Inoka was bullied. She was smarter than everyone, and could control people. They called her a witch. But then she found a boy who could see everything, and another whose eyes were red, and they became friends through forces they could not control.

**63. Do Not Disturb**

"Hey, Shippou-jii-sama? Shippou-jii-sama… jii-sama? Jii-sama?"

The kitsune slid one eye open and glared. "What?"

"What's the point of meditating anyways?"

**64. City (continuation of 29. Urban)**

The first day she had gone into a civilian city, she was arrested and sent to jail… apparently those metal things that she had used for target practice were _cars_.

**65. Horror-ific**

"A ghost."

"My older sister."

"That one kid that trapped us in a cave just so he could lose to us in a battle… psycho!"

"My Ji-sama… flirting with Anzu-san." Between Natsuko, Katsuya Jonouchi, Anzu Mazaki, and Hiroto Honda, that was the scariest thing they could think of.

**66. Snow (continuation of 60. Desert)**

Okay… Yuki-gakure in the dead of winter… _really sucked._

**67. Drum**

Of all the things she had, a sense of rhythm was not one of them.

**68. Hero**

Naruto had once saved Konoha, he deserved to be a hero, but they still saw him as a demon. Sasuke had once damned Konoha, he deserved to be a monster, but they still saw him as a hero. Life's not fair, even heroes can't fix that.

**69. Annoyance (continuation of 63. Do Not Disturb)**

"Hey, Kurama-san? Kurama-san… Kurama-san? Kurama-san?"

The kitsune slid one eye open and glared. "What?"

"What's the point of keeping your hair that long when it just makes you look like a girl?"

**70. 67 Percent**

Once, not that she would tell _anyone_, Sakuno had failed a test. It was a history test and was on, of all things, the Uchiha Massacre.

**71. Obsession**

Kyuubi was, once upon a time, obsessed with asserting his power. Naruto was, once upon a time, obsessed with gaining power. As they both watched over the hanyou that had to bear the consequences, they decided _this_ obsession was safe.

**72. Mislead**

Sakura picked up the small orange doll and talked to it… she heard her old friend answer back.

**73. I. Can't.**

"Stop being such a failure, Sanosuke." It was at that moment- when eight-year-old Sanosuke finally lost all hope of his father loving him- that his Sharingan awakened.

**74. Confrontation**

_One day, _both Yukio and Mina thought, _one day we will actually talk to Sakuno when it doesn't relate to a mission…_ But until that day, they would just have to deal with her attitude.

**75. Mirror**

The chuunin looked at herself in the mirror, hands brushing over the reflection. The hitai-ate covering one eye, the black face mask, the white hair… it was no wonder they could only see Kakashi.

**76. Broken (continuation of 6. Break)**

He had never had a toy break- he had no toys _to_ break. He had never felt a bone break- Kyuubi healed it too fast for him to feel. But Naruto knew the pain of having your heart broken… and he _knew_ he wouldn't let his daughter feel that.

**77. Testament**

"It says in here that Jesus walked on water after calming the storm."

"Oh… was Jesus a ninja?"

**78. Drink**

One time, Haruki accidentally had alcohol… her teammates ended up in the hospital for a week.

**79. Balk**

Natsuko didn't know what to do when her father dropped the Uchiha boy onto the bridge. What she _did_ do was probably better than her first instinct.

**80. Words**

Tsunade taught her that words meant nothing if you couldn't back it up.

**81. Pen and Paper (continuation of 80. Words)**

Jiraiya (unfortunately) taught her that pen and paper could make just words into millions.

**82. + (continuation of 70. 67 Percent)**

_Oh… _Sakuno mused to herself, at the same time glaring at the paper; _I hadn't thought there was such a thing as F+._

**83. Heal (continuation of 28. Sorrow and 55. Need)**

She had never asked Tsunade to teach her a healing jutsu… she had never felt the need. How she regrets that.

**84. Cold (continuation of 66. Snow)**

_Okay,_ Natsuko admitted to herself as she made another snowball and chucked it at Odd, _maybe Yuki-gakure in the dead of the winter is _so_ bad._

**85. Sick (continuation of 56. Biohazard)**

When Natsuko put it into perspective, as she looked at a small child being wheeled on a hospital bed, it was probably a good thing she was a hanyou. For one, human diseases couldn't get to her… and for the other, well, at least she wouldn't be visiting a _veterinarian_ hospital anytime soon.

**86. Seeing Red (continuation of 37. See)**

Out of curiosity, Tenji asks Sanosuke what it's like using the Sharingan. Sanosuke simply replies that it's not the red that is important… it's the black.

**87. Hunger**

She could feel it as soon as she looked at Konoha, there was something… or someone… that was drawing her in. As her stomach growled, she decided it was probably just the Ichiraku ramen stand.

**88. Pain**

Natsuko, despite her tough girl attitude, has never actually felt pain. She has Tsunade, she has the trees, and she has her demonic healing… and she secretly hates her weakness.

**89. Through the Fire**

When she first started learning Divine attack Fire, Natsuko was afraid she would get burned. So what Shippou-jii-sama did was douse her in oil. Despite getting scarred for life, Natsuko decided it was probably the best way to learn.

**90. Triangle**

As Inoka looked at her team, two boys and herself, she felt something but didn't know what it was. When Sanosuke told her about the blonde foreigner, Inoka felt something else- relief.

**91. Drown**

Ironically enough, even though she was the daughter of the Shodai Namikage, Tetsuki had once gone to the beach for a swim… and decided she hated the ocean.

**92. Spin**

The first time she had ramen, Natsuko followed the spiral on her fish cake… when the world started spinning and up became down, she decided it was probably better just to eat.

**93. Iron (continuation of 64. City)**

As she wandered the streets of the civilian city, and saw less and less nature, Natsuko vowed to never let this happen to ninja villages.

**94. Soft**

"Your fur is so soft, Kurama-san." Six-year-old Natsuko cooed to the small kitsune in her arms. He had trained with her, put up with her games, and let her put ribbons in his hair… Kurama was soft on her.

**95. Fumble**

Mina knew her mother used to have a tendency to stutter, she hadn't gotten that… but why was it so hard to talk when Yukio was smiling at her?

**96. Storm**

Once, Ichiyo and Natsuko had gotten lost in a sand storm. Ichiyo had saved her life, but he knew he still owed her for saving his.

**97. Safety**

It wasn't about safety, it wasn't about protection. When you got down to the core of ninja duties, it was about kill or be killed… and for some reason that made her feel safe.

**98. Puzzle**

Inoka didn't understand Tenji- Sanosuke she could read like an open book. But Tenji saw things she couldn't, and she knew that she couldn't solve _all_ puzzles in front of her.

**99. Alone**

It was dark, cold, wet… and she was all alone. She smiled, her fangs glinting in the red glow, this was _good_.

**100. Gone (continuation of 1. Introduction)**

"… But I'll still miss you, Kurama-san."

"I l-… miss you, too. Good luck at Konoha." As she walked away from the village, Kurama knew that his chance was leaving with her.

* * *

**A/N: Okay... almost a year since I updated... and its not even a real chapter... I suck... hopefully this'll let you know that even though I died (not literally) I have come back and am ready to do this... hopefully you guys don't hate me...**

**I actually did this all in one night (yesterday, actually) because I'm getting out of school tomorrow... which means I'll have more time to write Second Taile...**

**I know I don't deserve any reviews...**


	11. Chapter 10

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **_**AND**_** (thanks to a reviewer) I do not own any of the Prince of Tennis, Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu Yu Hakusho, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Sailor Moon, Inuyasha, Code Lyoko, and any other cartoon/anime characters I might have borrowed.**

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

**sap**

**Ero-kun**

**Goliith**

* * *

Light blue eyes looked up at the darkened night sky through the silhouettes of the forest, confusion marring its clarity. "How… did I end up here?" Natsuko asked out loud, a horrible habit for an aspiring kunoichi. "And… why do I hurt so much?" Gingerly she peeled herself off of the hard tree roots and rocks that the blond was sure she fell on. Shakily standing the hanyou checked her limbs (sore and scratched, but functioning properly), her vital organs (luckily all counted for and intact), and her head (bruised probably, but not cracked). "Wasn't I on a hill earlier? And where are the kits? Eeve-"

"_STOP IT!"_

A yell, which could almost be identified as a screech had the voice been more feminine, echoed through the forest. It was loud enough to express danger, but soft enough to show that whoever had yelled it was a large distance away. Ears twitching at the sudden noise, Natsuko ran towards the sound of the human voice in hopes to find an explanation to what had been happening… only to be met with more mind-boggling sights.

It had taken her sore legs mere minutes to push herself across the forest towards the origin of the yell, but for a ninja even minutes could change a situation: Two Konoha chuunin- one smug and silver-haired, the other a brunette with a scar across his face- were arguing. Over what, she didn't catch- Natsuko didn't deem it as important. But what did catch her attention was the third person present: a familiar young blonde, in a dirty orange jumpsuit, holding a scroll almost as big as him.

"Tou-sama?"

The blonde boy, however, took no notice of her as the brunette suddenly pushed him to the ground out of the flight path of a fuuma shuriken. And, while the youngest male remained unscathed, his chuunin protector was now sporting a large wound in his back- much to the pleasure of the obviously evil chuunin.

Both blondes stared in surprise at the Academy teacher, each with different reasons. The male, shocked that his Iruka-sensei would risk his life for the class dead-last/ village demon; the female, freaked out at the fact an oversized shuriken had just passed through her body and she wasn't bleeding. '_But I was right here. It should have stopped! What's happening?'_ Her thoughts, too panicked to be voiced, flew around in her head more confused than ever.

"_Naruto!"_

Her father- because only one person could have that name- dashed away, leaving the two chuunin alone for a few moments before they split in opposite directions towards the same target. Unsure of whose trail to follow, Natsuko stood alone in a puddle of blood she should have, but couldn't, prevent. A few moments had passed, but the hanyou's mind had finally wrapped around a conclusion for the situation.

"It's a memory." But none of the flashbacks she had ever received were this vivid… they were usually brief pictures and voices muddled by hatred. Being in such an unfamiliar circumstance, Natsuko did not know what to do: If she followed her father, whose memories these _had_ to be, would he lead her back to consciousness or would she be brought deeper into Naruto's memories?

Fortunately, Natsuko- being the brash, blonde, teenaged kunoichi that would take on any challenge- quickly brushed off that bout of indecision and went with her gut feeling. Sprinting after her father's trail (his scent was the most familiar to her), she thanked Kami-sama that all three trails merged together and her male counterpart was not killed (although, seeing as it was a memory and he was alive to _become_ her father she really didn't have anything to worry about).

For the observer of the memory, the situation between the Konoha nins had not changed drastically; the chuunins were blathering away at each other (the brunette heavily wounded) while the Academy student huddled around the scroll protected by the tree from harm's way.

"_Unlike what you're assuming… There's no way that demon fox wouldn't try to use the power." _

"_Yeah…"_

"Fox? They're talking about Kyuu-sama? How dare they-"

"_The Kyuubi would do that… but Naruto is different. He is one of my students. He may not be the hardest worker and he's clumsy so no one accepts him. He already knows what it is like to feel pain in your heart. He isn't the Kyuubi. He is a citizen of Konoha, he's Uzumaki Naruto!"_

Tears pricked the back of her eyes, but for once they were out of happiness instead of sorrow or frustration. Both blondes cried, though Natsuko did it more gracefully than her father, at Iruka's heartfelt monologue. Iruka… sensei… Iruka-sensei!

Natsuko stifled a gasp, though the participants in the memory would not have been able to hear her anyways. She knew that name!

'_**When my child lives in the Land of the Humans she will be under the teaching of Iruka-sensei, Tsunade-baa-chan, or Ero-sannin.'**_

"Iruka-sensei," The hanyou tasted the sound on her tongue, even if the said teacher could not respond, "It would have been nice to meet you."

There was more to the memory- she was sure since Naruto had just knocked the evil chuunin to the forest floor- but the edges of her vision started to blacken, and she felt a tugging on her back. It was time to move on.

* * *

A pair of golden eyes rolled, more for show than out of true annoyance, at the two adults standing on the other side of the table. Kyuubi, tied to a chair in what could only be a dungeon of sorts, was doing a horrible job at being an interrogated prisoner held against his will. For starters, the foreigner was in this predicament only because he agreed to it: there was no way a bunch of weak _humans_ were going force _him_- King of Kitsune- to do _anything_. But even if he _wasn't_ here willingly, these questions were getting repetitive and irritating.

"Okay, _demon_, what are you planning?" The blonde annoyance hissed, for the umpteenth time, stalking around the table to show her "intimidating face" to the red-head. Needless to say, even with the right environment and in the dim lighting, it didn't work.

"Planning? For what reason would I have to plan, Konoha-nin-san?" Kyuubi smiled politely at the kunoichi before she growled and stood beside her old teammate.

"Youko Kyuu-san… may I call you Kyuu-san?" The robust man asked, as he took over for his ill-tempered childhood friend. They were often paired together (in a classic "good-cop bad-cop" routine) in interrogating foreign nins because while Ino was usually scary enough to get the information, Chouji enough of a politician to keep her from starting a war between Konoha and the other gakure.

"You may, if I may address you as Chouji-san." It seemed like a polite, innocent answer; but the smirk on the demon's face, revealing lengthy sharp canine teeth, was contradictory. The Team 10 members stiffened at the response.

"How do you know that? Can all _demons_ do that, or is it just you?" Another fierce snarl, which would have put her other victims into a frightened state, instead brought… laughter?

"Now, now, Ino-san… or would Yamanaka-san be better?" Kyuubi chuckled at the jounin's attempts at a growl. _'Really now, even the youngest kit could be more intimidating.'_

"Ha! You're wrong, I'm not Yamanaka anymore! I've gotten mar-" The platinum blonde taunted the meager point in her current enemy's face before being pulled away by Chouji's large hand.

"Who are you?" The stout man asked, no longer using his ambassador's voice to mask his awe… or fear.

"As your Rokudaime Konohamaru-san and our Chuunin Exam forms must have told you, I am Youko Kyuu, a genin from a Kitsune-Gakure." The accused was now serious; this little game was getting _very_ annoying and Kyuubi was beginning to consider blowing their cover and escaping.

"Don't worry, Chouji, I can get it out of him." Fixing her hands into her classic mind-jumping position, fingertips together into a triangle, Ino confidently but grudgingly prepared herself for the jutsu. Very few ninja had forced her to use her clan's famous jutsu, and they had only been in her early inexperienced days of being in the Torture and Interrogation Force.

"Wait, Ino, don-"

"_**Shintenshin no Jutsu!"**_

* * *

Naruto's memories were easy to digest, in a way. Natsuko had heard most of the basics from her many teachers, his adventures were stories told to her before she slept. But no one had touched on his pre-adolescence. Not that they were not as exciting or dangerous, it's just that…

"So lonely."

… no one had been there to witness it.

She was surprised to witness everything before the heroic exaggerations, when her father had been simply a foolish young boy instead of "the boy destined to be the best". After the 'Stupid Evil Chuunin Incident', as the blonde girl liked to call it (she didn't know about the Forbidden Scroll), she had gone to the first time Team 7 met…

If it weren't for the fact she was a 'ghost' she would've liked to do some very "interesting" (as in lethal) to a certain future Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha. She would've liked to feel the same way to the silver-haired weirdo, what with the way he obviously preferred the Uchiha survivor over his other students, but she felt like-

"This is the way it must be. If the scarecrow hadn't favored the snake child then Naruto never would have met the frog, the slug, or any of the teachers that you have had."

Natsuko jumped at the sound of the voice addressing her, not that it was a loud voice (no, she could handle loud), but the fact that it was talking to her… in the middle of this… dream? A black shadow blurred itself into existence next to the hanyou, taller than the blonde with the proportions of a lanky teenaged boy. Some color seemed to bleed into the silhouette, but the formation stopped at an off-black color.

"It seems like I haven't mastered it yet, though it was easier with this one. Probably your bloodline, very pure." The figure muttered to himself, as the shadowy pair of hands lifted itself up to eye level.

"What? Who are-"

"Oh, right, Yuuko told me to come. It seems like you're not on schedule, if you don't speed up the price might be too great."

"Who is Yuuko, and what do you mean by price?"

At the blonde's confusing gaze, the shadow continued on to other topics, safer topics, "I'm Watanuki Kimihiro, we must move on, we are wasting too much time here." Watanuki placed a hand on the younger teen's shoulder, "We must now move passed the first day of Team 7 and skip to the Wave country, more specifically the battle on the bridge."

In an instant, months of her father's memories poured into her mind, flashing in her eyes like a series of picture being downloaded by a computer. Thousands of moments, hundreds of missions, all sorts of emotions; it was a whirlwind of chaos and pain. Tears threatened to spill from her blue orbs as they skipped forward in the journey, it was too great of an intake to quickly but it felt like ages.

Just when Natsuko felt like letting go, letting the pain overcome her, a shadowy hand landed on her head. "Sorry, I'm sorry. It hurts now, but if we stay here too long… there will be worse consequences. We must fast forward through the smaller incidents and observe the larger lessons, later on we will have time to go back… but there are certain battles you must witness, particular pasts and people. The first is the Wave Country."

* * *

"Who are you?"

"Well, my papers say I'm Shippou Touru, but I like to think of myself as a really good ninja," The blonde smiled cheekily, answering the question truthfully considering he was neither Shippou Touru nor a 'really good ninja'. No, he was in fact Uzumaki Naruto _the best _ninja. And needless to say, the most annoying interrogation subject ever.

"Hokage-sama, it would be troublesome if you strangled a genin while illegally detaining and interrogating him during the Chuunin Exams." The pony-tailed man sighed as he held back his leader who had gone into a rage from the teenager's answers.

"Thanks Nara Shikamaru, I don't know how I would've ever held off a Hokage brat when he's letting his failure get the better of him." The sarcasm dripped like poison, which Konohamaru understood completely, but the shadow user could hear the pride underneath.

"What is your team planning for the Chuunin Exams? Your goal isn't to pass, is it?" The genius observed what could only be called a Naruto clone; it seemed too much of a coincidence that a _Kitsune_ team would have a _blonde boy_ that both _Tsunade_ and _Jiraiya_ _sannin_ supported.

"We want to show the world who we are; we're going to prove our strength, starting with the Chuunin Exams." The determination that 'Touru' said this with, it made even the dark dusty room shine with life that it hadn't felt in years.

"Does that strength include having knowledge on Konoha nin that aren't even in the Exams?" Konohamaru shook himself free of Shikamaru's shadow, but still remained silent behind the older jounin. He had skipped out on important paperwork (and Ebisu's boring lecture on responsibility) to help the Fallen Leaves… and instead he was standing around doing nothing.

"Nara Shikamaru- leader of the Nara clan, shadow user, genius, strategist, first of his class to become a Chuunin, could have easily been Hokage if it weren't for the fact that he's a lazy unmotivated cloud-watching bum- you of all people should know that it is better to be prepared than deal with the troublesome things afterwards." Then he smiled, as if he had seen an old friend or sent a secret message. Maybe he had done both.

"One last question, do you know Uzumaki Naruto?" The two younger ninja looked at Shikamaru in surprise, one completely out of the loop and one surprised that his old friend had understood his message.

"Sort of, but I have my own questions. If the guy wearing the fancy robes and hat doesn't mind, that is." The blonde teased his once upon a time apprentice, the achiever of his once upon a time dream. He remembered the time when he had so achingly sought after the honor, the right, to wear those very robes and hat. But that was in the past now.

"Wha-" Konohamaru spluttered angrily, forgetting about his dejection earlier, as his pride was being insulted.

"Go ahead," The Hokage was again ignored as the once comrades picked up their conversation. Shikamaru sat down in a chair across from the prisoner so they were at eye level, so they were equals.

* * *

Natsuko had been raised seeing Wave Country as a prosperous popular country. She had learned of its great depression, when Gatou's oppressive regime had sucked the island nation dry… but even the weather had seemed so dismal. Gone were her memories of a brightly shining sun, and tourists enjoying the beaches; now they were replaced with her father's, a miserable cloudy land worth fighting for.

It was a relatively small-scale battle, more like a pair of fist fights really, since there were only five combatants and three of them were mere children. But it was a _ninja_ battle, nothing is small-scale for ninja. Especially when the participants were Legendary Copy-Cat Sharingan, Demon of the Mist, the Last Uchiha, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and the unknown.

"The unknown? That is…?" The blonde girl questioned her faceless guide as he gestured towards the false Mist ANBU.

"_The unknown_ a thing, influence, area, factor, or person that is beyond knowledge; he is a factor that could change the future. He is the first true friend that your father ever made, the first to truly understand him. Thrown away as a monster for traits that he could not change; they called him dirt for having a kekkai genkai, and yet his blood was so pure…" As Watanuki faded off, the battle continued on before their eyes: Kakashi had summoned his nin-dogs, and Sasuke's Sharingan had activated. The tables were beginning to turn in favor of the leaves, but the final wave of victory was yet to be had.

"Now watch closely, watch him… he seems like an insignificant person now; and it's quite possible that even your father has forgotten. But this is the first lesson you will learn. You will need it later on."

Natsuko obeyed, watching the Hyoton user closely. His skill with ice, which was only a combination of Divine Water and Divine Wind attacks, was superb. His manipulation of teleportation jutsu and his kekkai genkai were genius. But what amazed her most was his loyalty… especially after he had "killed" Sasuke (she was too focused to cheer) and her father had unleashed Kyuu-sama's primal youkai, destroying the barrier of ice mirrors. Sure he had fallen, considering death by Naruto's hand over his "uselessness", but when Zabuza needed him he sacrificed his own life to do his mission.

The mob came and went, she didn't care for that. But as she stared at the dead bodies of Zabuza and Haku, as she now knew his name, in the snow she once played with, she felt one step closer to…

"To what?" The hanyou was getting confused again. Going through memories not your own will do that, things were speeding up, thoughts were escaping and running off track and she was getting lost.

"Do you understand this lesson?" Her guide placed a hand on her shoulder, steadying her ghost of a body. He took her sad smile as a yes before pulling on the next destination. "We only have time for one more memory. After that…" He trailed off, but picked up again cheerfully, "Time to go see the tanuki's lesson."

* * *

Chouji was too late. The purple-clad woman slumped over as her spirit left her body. Catching her and sitting her in the seat across from Kyuubi, Chouji glared at the demon.

"Don't hurt her."

"What happens to her is only my natural defense reacting to intruders. If she is harmed, it is only because she did not heed your warning,"

Coming from the mouth of any other prisoner, Chouji would have expected a sneer or a smirk on Kyuubi's face. Instead, all that the Konoha agent could see was sympathy and truth. Grudgingly, Chouji agreed with the red-head.

"She has always been stubborn, hasn't she? Ever since her childhood."

"How did you-" But Konoha's Meat Tank was cut off yet again as he sensed Kyuubi's chakra (but which was truly named youkai) flare… probably reacting to Ino's trademark jutsu. The air around them became heavier, oppressive, and lit up with swirling red youkai. The light grew brighter, and more menacing, as if someone had set off an explosion tag in the small room. Then as soon as it had started it stopped.

Chouji's eyes, still slightly blinded from the flash, shifted to his partner. The limp body now began to tremble, Ino's mind returning to its proper place, as she stared in fear at the kitsune. Her confidence and anger vanished at the hands of a demon.

The jounin's shaking hands snaked up to her mouth, strange humming noises coming from the back of her throat. Then suddenly the wooden chair she was sitting in crashed against the wall as she ran out the door, emptying the contents of her stomach.

"Ino? What's, no, wait, I mean…" The 'big-boned' man looked between his old teammate and his duty. He knew the more responsible choice, but something had definitely shocked the Interrogation head… in a bad way.

"Go after her, Chouji-san, I have not left before nor am I planning to leave," Dismissing the larger man, as if he had the authorization to do so, Kyuubi tried to put on a calming smile… really he did attempt to… but is it really his fault that whenever he shows his teeth people automatically think he wants to bite them?

As the ambassador turned tail and followed after his Ino, the red-haired demon called out after him, "Also, send someone back here to clean up her regurgitation! I have a very sensitive nose!"

His only response was heavy footfalls and a slammed door. He sighed; the odds were that he would have to stay in this damp smelly room until the angry blonde insect felt better. The Kyuubi no Youko, sighed again, wondering how the other members of 'his team' were doing.

* * *

"That's Gaara-sama?" The pair was standing off to the side of the Chuunin Exam stadium, where the Shukaku container was currently fighting Sasuke.

"Yes, that's the tanuki of your father's time." Natsuko's newest sensei looked at her face, "Did you expect something different?"

"Well, I know he's Ichibi-chan's father, but with Ichibi-chan's coloring I didn't expect him to be so… bright." Comparing the red-headed, green eyed Gaara to her own silver-haired, purple-eyed Ichiyo was confusing. She had always assumed that Ichiyo's ethereal appearance was because of his father and the Shukaku.

"Bright? That is an interesting view on him." Bright would not be one of the top words on Watanuki's list to describe the red-head, currently beating up the Uchiha snake and smiling like a bloody maniac.

The two spectators were standing against the wall of the circular stadium, far from the fight but much closer than the actual audience. Natsuko's eyes, rather than following the sand clone, remained on the original Gaara while Watanuki… he was just a shadowy silhouette, she wasn't even sure if he had _eyes._ And suddenly, in the midst of her confusion, the Suna jinchuuriki was _losing_. Uchiha-teme had sped up, and-

"He's _hurting _him!" Natsuko felt her panic-and rage- at the hit, seeing the sand armor around the red-head crack from the abuse.

"Natsuko, it's a fight, they are _supposed_ to hurt each other, they are ninja… you are a ninja," Her new sensei logically responded, but logic could not go up against what the hanyou saw… no longer was it Gaara versus Sasuke; in her mind, the former tanuki had morphed into her own Ichiyo- it was the seven-year old jinchuuriki that was forming a sand cocoon around himself in order to protect himself from the Uchiha. The little boy that was practically a little brother was shielding himself in darkness, and she did not enjoy it one bit.

Sasuke had retreated, sticking horizontally against the ring's massive walls, but it seemed almost instantly that he was running towards her Ichibi-chan with lightning in his hand, the sound of birds and destruction trailing after him. Chidori.

"No!" Her protest was unheeded, and the impenetrable orb was falling apart. She saw Ichiyo's purple eyes wide with shock, his red and blue marked face pale with fear, and his hand shaking, clutching his shoulder, red- with his own blood. Immediately she was beside him, murmuring to him that it was alright, she was here, she could heal it- he couldn't hear her. She was going to kick Uchiha's as-

"Sakura?"

Except, this wasn't the Sakura she had seen… the green eyes on Haruno hadn't shone like a jade dagger and her face hadn't been steeled into a permanent scowl. The frowning mouth was starting to move, the Sakura double was talking to her… except she couldn't hear. But Ichiyo, her darling, bleeding, otouto could; and it was hurting him. His eyes were shut, pain dramatically intensified, he had dropped to the ground and now he was bleeding all over the place.

The blonde kneeling in between them, glared at the attacker, blue eyes flashing dangerously red.

"Natsuko, stop it!"

The blonde had begun to form the chakra in her hand, and sluggish swirl was picking up speed, forming a miniature hurricane in the palm of her hand.

"Eat this! _**Rasengan!**_"

She could hear Watanuki's yells, but to no avail- Natsuko had already plunged the Rasengan through the pink-haired kunoichi's gut and the shadow… he had already disappeared- and so had she.

* * *

"As much as you think I know about the Konoha nin, I have a few questions about some of them. What happened to Umino Iruka?" Straight to the point, no more dancing around the fine lines of truth and lies. Naruto wanted to know what happened to his surrogate father; he had found no information on him during recon… meaning something must have happened to the Academy teacher.

"He wasn't a strong ninja, didn't go above Chuunin rank, and he was an average Konoha nin. Why ask about him?" The shadow user received only a glare in return, as if he didn't know the answer, "He died in a mission, B-level. He stopped teaching after our Hokage's graduating year, joined a four man Chuunin squad, and died three months afterwards protecting a little girl from a missing-nin's explosive tag."

The silence roared as the pause settled, Iruka had been teacher to all of them, all of them felt tugs at their heartstrings and pricks in their eyes… but for the student who hadn't known, it hurt so much more. It took relatively little time for Naruto to regain his composure, the hard emotional part had finished and he still had other question to ask.

"What about Copy Cat Sharingan Hatake Kakashi?" The orange clad boy grimaced; using his _sensei's_ full title always left a disgusting taste in his mouth.

"Technically we're not allowed to tell you his whereabouts, but his records say he died about five years ago; which _is_ somewhat true." The beginnings of a grin appeared on both of the brunettes' faces.

"More like he died and is now living in his own personal hell." Jumping into the conversation, Konohamaru had a knowing smirk on his face. After all, he was one of the few people who knew what actually happened to Kakashi… along with the rest of the Fallen Leaves.

"Any other questions on Hatake?" The shadow user chuckled cruelly along with the Hokage.

Face scrunched in confusion, Naruto shook his head; some things were better left not questioning; especially when that something would give even the lazy Shikamaru a sadistic smirk. "Last question, can you explain the Uchiha?"

"Which one? There're four of them; the twins, Sakura-san now since she married, and… the 'Clan Head' himself." Konohamaru elaborated, clearly expressing his dislike for his ex-boss' ex-best friend yet still maintaining the political manners ingrained into him from being a leader.

"Tell me about _him_."

* * *

_In. Out. In. Out._ The hanyou tried to control her breathing, calm, slow breathes… yes, calm was good… calm was very good.

"Where AM I?"

… Or not.

The blonde was floating face up in water, the surface breaking for her face but otherwise delicately covering the orange clad girl. She wasn't entirely sure if it was a lake, or an ocean, or river- she couldn't see any shore or land anywhere… but she could see that above her was completely dark.

She had tried swimming around, but that had only tired her out… and it wouldn't do to have her drown in some unknown place. She couldn't find Watanuki-san (was it supposed to be Watanuki-sama? She didn't know), and she was pretty sure no one else was suffering the same fate as she was… so she had to settle with the floating, which was, all in all, pretty nice except for the fact that she had NO IDEA WHERE SHE WAS!

But besides that, it was peaceful… she hadn't felt this calm in…

"**Months?"**

"Precisely… huh?" And suddenly, Natsuko was looking at herself. A drier, standing, red-eyed version of herself. A couple of seconds passed by before the implications of this settled. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"**I did… I **_**saved**_** me."**

"What? I am me and you are you… I am _not _you. And what do you mean by saved?" The blue-eyed blonde nearly growled at her demonic counterpart, but beyond that showed no change in her position.

"**Stand,"** She held out a clawed hand out to help her human side- she was obeyed, but her assistance ignored. They stood in front of the other, the similarity making the differences all the more pronounced. **"I have an offer for me, but not here."**

"If you haven't noticed, there's nothing her-" A large doorway appeared, though there was no door connected, "Oh… How did you do that? Where's Watanuki-san?"

"**I am in my mind, as I have more experience being here than myself I know how to control it… the shadow has already left to go back to his… master. Come." **The pair had walked through the rectangle, off the water's surface and into a lavishly decorated room. **"We do not have much time; I should get straight to the point. I may sit if I wish to."**

It took her a while to comprehend, but Natsuko soon sat in a red plush chair, waiting for her demonic doppelganger to begin speaking again. Instead she watched the other blonde pace around the room, playing with some of the gold and crimson ornaments within her reach. "You just said we didn't have much time-"

"**I want freedom, no, I **_**need**_** freedom. I am still me. It is not just that I should be locked in my mind when… I get to have control of my body. I am not the one that wants power yet I have the power. It is I that wants power, yet still has freedom. I want time- time to feel the wind on my face, time to feel the blood rush through my veins."** Her clawed hand fisted itself, blood dripping onto the matching carpet, as Natsuko locked eyes with the mirror image standing in front of her.

"What?" In confusion, the blue-eyed half stood up, eye level matching once more. Her counterpart opened her fanged mouth once more, to repeat herself, but the human side had quickly stopped her. "Okay, let me get this straight- and just nod when it's right, okay?"

A roll of ruby eyes and a nod were her response.

"You want control over my body… that's never going to happen." The human Natsuko sat back down, pointedly looking away from her demon side.

"**In exchange, I will give myself access to my youkai- control over my power that I have only used once and the knowledge that comes with it."**

It felt like a lie, and it probably was a trap… bait just so that she would take it… but Natsuko couldn't resist from turning back and listening to her more savage looking half.

"**I have so much potential; I can see it on my face from the markings, can I not? And yet, I know I can not surpass six without the youkai." **At the reluctance on the sitting blonde's face, the standing one continued, **"Of course, I know I would never agree to complete control- that would not help either- but I would accept limited time over my body… and to be fair I will only get parts of my youkai."**

"You… I… I just can't… that's hardly…" She was completely flustered, her voice high pitched, but she stopped and silence reigned over the imaginary room as the human mulled it over. Her blue eyes slid shut, and her breathing slowed, if ever there were something to meditate on… it would be this.

"**NO!"**

Meditation took time, however, and time was something she did not have. Her eyes shot open, only to be met with darkness edging into her view. Natsuko could barely see her demonic half's clawed hand reaching out, as she herself began to sink into the darkness that had formed underneath her.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, told you I would update… sorry you had to wait a while though… I hope it was long and good enough… it is supposed to be a little confusing, most of it is in her head, and the choppiness (I hope isn't too bad) is supposed to make it seem like everything is happening at the same time…**

**Guess where I just went for the past two weeks? JAPAN! Unfortunately… I could not write when I was there… but I will try to get the next chapter up soon… and really guys, thanks for not completely abandoning me… I probably still don't deserve any reviews…**


	12. Chapter 11

**Second Taile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **_**AND**_** (thanks to a reviewer) I do not own any of the Prince of Tennis, Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu Yu Hakusho, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Sailor Moon, Inuyasha, Code Lyoko, and any other cartoon/anime characters I might have borrowed.**

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

**Bobboky**

**Millennium-Authoress**

**Dark Reborn**

* * *

Natsuko's nose twitched, her sense of smell had always been the strongest amongst the others. She could smell that she was in a room not her own, but that didn't tell her much since she often woke up in an inn while traveling around the world and training. She was able to sniff out that there were two intruders in the room, both watching her, and probably related since their scents were similar.

Moving quickly, almost like a flash of lightning, she threw the blanket up off of herself and onto the potential enemies. Her blonde hair flying, blue eyes flashing menacingly, the hanyou jumped into a basic defensive stance…

Or at least she would have, if her kunai pouch had been on her thigh like she always had it. And if she hadn't immediately fallen over, her legs and feet were unnaturally in pain. All this only to be caught by one of the unknown beings Natsuko thought she had to defend herself from in the first place.

"Calm down, please, you're still injured." A light, satiny voice spoke to her from across the room. The woman, Hyuuga Hinata if she remembered correctly from her father's memories, had a reassuring smile as if apologizing for her cousin. Hyuuga Neji, although he had the same purple-black hair and pearl-white eyes, was vastly different: a frown marred his face as if annoyed that his reflexes forced him to hold Natsuko up, but in his colorless eyes she could see a hint of worry at her pain.

"What am I doing here?" The tanned girl asked as she was carefully lowered back onto the futon and the blanket was draped on her body, which Natsuko noted was dressed in a white yukata instead of her normal attire.

"Normally, most people would ask 'who are you' or 'where am I' as their first question." Neji's voice, which was deeper than she would expect for a… well… he _was_ a very beautiful man…

"Hyuuga clan heads, Hinata and Neji. Hyuuga Compound. Now it's your turn." A ghost of a smirk showing on the girl's face, pleased at the two adult's surprise.

"We found you outside of our compound, injured in the forest. We thought it would be best for you to recuperate before..." Hinata, although quicker to react to the blonde's remark, was unable to make up a believable lie and her voice trailed off. After all, she had no idea how the foreign kunoichi would act if they told her the truth: that Hyuuga Toki, Konoha chuunin and Fallen Leaves member, was ordered to kidnap the demon suspect who had (while unconsciously being transported to the Hyuuga compound for questioning) spontaneously developed bruises, cuts, and what appeared to be burns.

From the empty ending, Natsuko was able to understand the basics of what was happening. Obviously the Rokudaime Hokage did not trust the demonic team and, being the responsible leader he was, sent his trusted and stronger _senpai_ to capture and watch/question the potential threats. Because she was a girl, and on average genin teams the kunoichi is physically weaker, she was considered the lesser threat and possibly the weak link. In theory she would be too fragile to interrogate, but definitely enough of a danger that she had to be monitored… in theory, of course.

Luckily, being underestimated made Natsuko's job much easier. The kitsune trio had researched the competitors of the Chuunin Exams, and while they had gotten the basics on Konoha's Rookie nine they were still largely unknown. Naruto's knowledge of the new Rookie Nine's parents was limited to what jutsu he had scene them use during his days as a loyal Konoha genin. It wasn't much and it was seriously outdated. But with the new development, Natsuko would be able to watch three of the Konoha competitors with Hyuuga blood: Hyuuga Tenji, Inuzuka Mina, and Haruki Lee.

"Then I must thank you for your hospitality." She responded politely, the only correct way to answer according to her boring politics lessons in Kitsune-Gakure. "I'll try to leave as soon as possible, I'm sorry to burden you." Oh yeah, reverse psychology was taught too.

"No, you are not a burden at all. On behalf of Konoha-Gakure, feel free to stay in the Hyuuga Compound as long as you need." The female Hyuuga head assured Natsuko, as both of the adults stood.

"If you need any assistance, you may call for one of the servants and they will come here." Neji added as the paper door slid shut with a click.

Natsuko rolled her eyes, _'More like: Don't leave this room because we have people watching.'_ Snuggling back into the futon she pretended to fall asleep, waiting until Hinata and Neji were beyond Byakugan sight.

* * *

The Konoha nin shivered involuntarily, quickly turning his back to the one-way window of the interrogation room. Ino wasn't coming back, he preferred it that way… he didn't want to risk his partner and friend's health any further, so he had sent her to Moegi… hopefully a good night's rest in the Konoha hospital would help. And plus, Chouji mused to himself, there was something he wanted to try for himself. But as he turned back around to face his charge he couldn't help shivering again: Despite the "one-way" part of "one-way window" the golden eyes inside the room seem to glare coldly at him specifically.

Chouji took a deep breath, building his courage (after all, the foreign genin had already turned the ANBU Interrogation Head into a shaky pile of nerves) before summoning the slightest bit of chakra to his hands and pressing it against the sealed doors. It was a precaution: the seal on the door required chakra to enter (making sure that only those of the Fallen Leaves could open it) but only a push to exit (only the room of course, it took a lot more to actually exit the structure).

The heavy-set shinobi cheerily entered the room, sending a friendly wave with one hand while depositing the scrolls he held in the other hand onto the table. One labeled Youko Kyuu, another titled Shippo Touru, and the last but most important named Kurama Natsuko- all had the respective teammates' pictures and a leaf insignia stamped almost ominously next to it.

"What did you do with the others?" The demon suspect growled threateningly, baring his elongated canine teeth. He had long ago broken the chakra bindings, but he now had the sudden urge- edging on panic- to actually leave the ANBU dungeons.

"Now we're talking," The Konoha Meat Tank said casually, although inside he was shaking in his sandals, "You seem to be perfectly fine when Ino is threatening _you_… but one mention of your teammates and you lose your cool."

"Answer the question, Chouji… or your son will be the youngest Akimichi clan head in history."

That was motivation enough… he supposed. "_I_ have not done anything to them… as far as I know, they are unharmed and probably in even better condition than you. I know Kagami was sent after Shippo Touru and Tokiko retrieved Kurama Natsuko. Everything's in the file- it's a peace offering- well, everything we know about your team, anyways…" The large man mumbled on before the room was plunged in an awkward silence.

"What do you want in return?" Kyuubi refused to touch this so-called 'peace offering' without knowing what he would have to give up in exchange.

"I would like you to answer my questions… I promise not to tell anyone else without your permission. Everything will be off the record; this is to satisfy my own curiosity." Chouji attempted to look the red-head in the eyes, to prove he was trustworthy, but immediately looked away. At the responding silence, the heavy-set man remembered his manners, "… Please…"

"Very well, I will answer the questions I see fit and I will… try to answer them fully," The kitsune spoke slowly, as if cooperating was a new experience for him, while scooping up the scrolls with his team's information. He opened all three, deciding to skim over it while answering the Konoha nin's questions.

"Okay… well… um," That was a surprise… he hadn't actually expected the demon to agree, and he hadn't really thought out what questions to ask, "I know you come from Kitsune-Gakure, which is located in the land of the spirits, meaning you are not fully or even partially human."

"That is correct,"

"Well, just because you are different does not mean that you are evil," _If that were true, _Chouji mused, _then all of the clans would be considered evil,_ "So, I suppose, my first question is really just: Do you wish to harm Konoha or its citizens in any way?"

"No." Hadn't they established that already?

"How do you have information on Konoha ninja? Is it an ability you have, or was it told to you by someone else?" The latter was more likely, Yoko Kyuu had already given that away when he had called Ino by her maiden name of Yamanaka- the information the Kitsune team had was majorly outdated, that would be to the Fallen Leaves' advantage.

"I know this… _we_ know what we know because we have experienced it… we cannot read minds- for the most part- and we were only told parts. For example," The Kyuubi couldn't help but smirk a tad, kitsune _are _mischievous creatures after all, "We know that you are Akimichi Chouji, Konoha's Meat Tank, your first team was Team 10 headed by Sarutobi Asuma with team members Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino creating the second Ino-Shika-Cho team, and you absolutely hate being called… _fat_."

Said ninja spluttered for a moment, obviously caught between a loss for words and the urge to react to the 'f-word', before the red-head continued.

"And… we know that when you were at the Ninja Academy you, Shikamaru, Kiba, and…" The kitsune paused for a moment, reveling in the growing fear on Chouji's face, "… Naruto liked to ditch class together until your parents got mad at you for talking to the… _**Kyuubi brat.**_"

"You… you-"

"We are not your enemies; in fact, we do not even want to be here," Kyuubi continued on before the larger man could become even more confused, "We know how strong we are without this Chuunin Exam- at the very least jounin level, we _demons _are far more capable than you foolish _humans_- and our village does not need us to take missions for income or anything like that. In truth, they did not wish for us to come here at all…" Kyuubi smirk grew wider, and were it not extremely inappropriate at the moment he would have burst out laughing, "Do you not remember a time when a certain blue-eyed, blonde child wanted to prove himself to this very village? Now," He really was laying it on thick, but the red-head had so few ways of entertaining himself nowadays, "we have returned with his legacy."

The pause that followed would have made a suitable cliff-hanger… until the sealed door slammed onto the ground, looking every bit like a porcupine with the number of senbon sticking out of it.

"Ah, Shizune-san," The Kyuubi stood up, shocking both adults with his lack of chakra bindings, "Have you come to rescue me?"

* * *

_Figures_, Naruto growled to himself, _the teme would only get a slap on the wrist after betraying the entire village… bastard_.

Shikamaru, in an uncharacteristically long monologue, had gone into detail about the Uchiha "clan head": from the rogue's departure, to his return (including the welcome from the remains of Team 7, Council, and civilians), and even his almost rise to Rokudaime Hokage. And while each word put the blonde into a deeper mood, he noted cheerily that the brunettes were just as angry (if not more so) at the corruption of their own village.

Although, the orange-clad ninja wasn't entirely sure how he should feel about Sakura's situation. While it did sting that his first crush had ended up with his would-be murderer, Naruto felt somewhat happy that the she was open about her dislike of Sasuke. He wasn't really sure how to feel about the doll, though… honored that she regretted not spending much time with him, or guilty that it had drove the pink-haired genjutsu user to self-imposed insanity.

And while it was difficult to listen to Shikamaru and Konohamaru's tale (all of it real, unfortunately) he dreaded what was coming up next…

"Now it's your turn to talk…"

Shoot, he probably should have come up with something beforehand…

"Tell us, what happened to Uzumaki Naruto,"

Oh well, too late, he would just have to wing it... but then again, the truth did always make the best story, "Um… the entire thing?"

"No, just what happened to him after he turned eighteen," At this point, he really wasn't sure about what Shikamaru knew and didn't know, "I'm assuming he went to your village when he 'disappeared' from the ninja world."

"Yeah, he went to Kitsune-Gakure the day after his eighteenth birthday," The blonde teen gave a sad chuckle at his own expense, "Truthfully, he didn't even know he had been given the title of strongest ninja… he just wanted to go home," Ignoring Konohamaru's indignant squawk (something about Konoha being his real home), Naruto's eyes were beginning to glaze over. He had never told anyone (not even Ero-sennin) about that day, and while the kitsune had been there they couldn't understand how he felt when he first entered the village… couldn't understand the _fear _of being denied, of being rejected by yet another village that looked _so_ much like his hometown for the very same reason.

He was so glad, so _relieved_ to be wrong about the demon village.

_It was probably the best and worst birthday gift anyone had ever given him… then again it __**was **__from Kyuubi, and nothing from the Kyuubi came without risks. But Naruto didn't care about that much anymore; he had long ago become independent of Kyuubi's chakra (or youkai as he had been corrected on many times) and they had formed a strange sort of teacher-student bond._

_In his opinion, Kyuubi wasn't all that better than Ero-sennin… but he was digressing._

_The main point was that this was the biggest risk he had ever even __**dreamed**__ of taking, and while many of his more reckless had cost him days- even weeks- in various hospitals, this was a risk of the emotional sort… and let no one say he __**wasn't**__ an emotional ninja. _

_Hell, he had spent the better part of five years listening to the sealed demon in his belly (er… mind) for the slightest chance to find a place to call home. Training, avoiding Konoha hunter nins, reducing his ramen intake (he wasn't sure what that had to do with to do with getting stronger, but he had indeed lessened it)- all that on top of racing to what __**had**__ to be the ends of the earth, entering a mystical and seemingly endless forest that the Kyuubi reassured him was the Land of the Spirits, and getting the strength sapped out of him thanks to the oppressive youkai in the atmosphere… needless to say, he felt like a moronic genin again, before Ero-sennin had knocked some sense and skills into him._

_As if his body was protesting the very thought, he sped up his rate through the eerily fascinating looking forest. __**'Hey furball, you said it wouldn't take long… where is it?' **__Addressing the highly revered, Demon Kitsune King, Kyuubi no You-_

'_**USE THOSE HOLES IN YOUR HEAD YOU CALL EYES, BRAT.'**_

_Naruto obediently tore his eyes off of the forest floor where he had nervously stuck them earlier. What he saw was so horribly haunting that it was…_

"_Beautiful. Just like Konoha… no… it is better." _

_But that hardly made him feel any less worried. But then again it was kind of funny… in a cosmic sort of way._

_And then he listened- silence- in the ninja world that was a bad thing… either all of your comrades were dead or you were about to be ambushed._

'_**OR A FUNERAL'**_

'_**But you said demons could only 'die' if another was being born… it shouldn't be this quiet.'**__ After all… a person might have died, but another was born… it wasn't all bad._

_By that time he had already reached the ominous looking gate._

_And boy was he surprised… Kyuubi was right (to some degree)… it was a funeral for someone who hadn't died… for someone who had been pacing outside of the village, then had been attacked for looking suspicious, then defeated the entire royal guard just to kneel in front of the village leader and the princess… or at least the funeral was for the someone inside that someone. _

_But despite the fact that he had one of their own- the strongest of their own in fact, since Shippou was only a six-tail at the time- his request was met with some apprehension. Amongst the villagers he was looked at with suspicion- oddly enough, not for being the jailor for their lord, but for being human. But that didn't bother Naruto, in fact, it was better than he thought._

_With this, all he needed was to work hard and be on his best behavior and everything would fall into place. And it did… it certainly didn't hurt his case when he rescued Ichiko-hime from bakeneko kidnappers._

_It didn't hurt his chances with the princess, either. Of course, it wasn't love at first sight- in fact; she was determined to dislike him until they figured out how to free Kyuubi. It was an ingenious mix of the summoning contract and Kage Bunshin no jutsu. They could summon the Kyuubi's soul, but the clone was needed as the vessel. Of course, it was a temporary body, extremely weak, and took a year and a half to actually figure out the execution, but it did allow the demon some semblance of freedom._

_But I digress. With all that Naruto was doing for the village, along with seeing each other everyday (he lived in a youkai-proof room in the Youko palace) they did eventually fall in love._

"… then Ichiko-hime gave birth, and the couple died."

"LIAR!" And suddenly the blonde was face to face with an enraged Hokage. It was intimidating for all of four seconds, until Naruto remembered what Konohamaru used to look like when he was mad- then he had to hold in his laughter.

"What'd you say this time, brat?" A certain white-haired Toad Sage asked from the window, surprising the three younger males inside.

"Hokage-sama doesn't believe me when I say that Uzumaki Naruto is dead." The cheeky grin transferred from Jiraiya to Naruto, leaving the sannin with an obvious scowl.

"Well then, tell the Hokage that if he went through the trouble of kidnapping and interrogating a foreign genin team only to consider the information false, then he either is a bad interrogator or a bad Hokage," Climbing in through the window, the S-class jounin began undoing the binds on his blonde student, glaring at the mis-ranked jounin as if daring him to say anything, "And if he wants his advisor alive to tell him this he better get back to the Tower before Tsunade loses her temper." Konohamaru had the sense to look ashamed before, quite literally, teleporting to his post.

Which left Shikamaru for clean up… "Troublesome," The now freed Naruto and Jiraiya turned to look at the brunette questioningly. "I'm sorry for the kidnapping and… interrogation. This was not my idea… but I would like to ask one more-"

"Just do it," Naruto sighed, apparently Shikamaru had gotten chattier with age.

"Shippou Touru isn't your real name." Ah, there we go, blunt and no nonsense, that's more like it.

"No… Kurama isn't Natsuko's real name either," He had meant for it to be the last sentence, but as the ex-Konoha nin stepped onto the convenient toad waiting at the window, he heard his old friend say one last remark: "Don't hurt my daughter,"

"Don't hurt mine, then," But they had already taken to the sky like only toad summoners can.

"Hey Ero-sennin," The blonde asked, ignoring the routine indignant squawks of his teacher, "where is this place, anyways?"

"You don't recognize it?" At his student's not so subtle look of 'if I did would I be asking?' Jiraiya continued on, "Its you old apartment,"

"Oh…"

"And speaking of 'oh's, I forgot to tell you: we still haven't found Natsuko." At any other time he would have laughed at the panicked look on Naruto's face, but he, too, was worried about their little girl.

* * *

Natsuko snickered before immediately slapping a hand over the mouth. _All seeing Byakugan my butt!_ Seeing the pair of maids turn at the corner down the hallway, the blonde kunoichi continued her trek through the Hyuuga Compound, on the wooden ceilings, on her chakra covered belly. Using her forearms to drag herself upside down through the irritatingly large house (mansion?), the blonde couldn't help but smile at the over all atmosphere of the place.

Naruto had never actually been inside the Hyuuga Compound (for obvious reasons) but he had witnessed the tension between the Main and Branch Families through Neji and Hinata... and in comparison, now was so much more relaxed. And the Hyuuga fighting style certainly wasn't hurt by the marriages to outsiders: such as Rock Lee with Hanabi Hyuuga, effectively giving their daughter both the Jyuuken and her father's-

"Ah! My eyes!" Natsuko yelled (whispered, really) as a bright glare of light flashed in her face, resulting in a loss of concentration, resulting in a loss of gravity defying chakra, resulting in her fall from the wooden ceiling to the wooden floor… rather painful due to her many wounds. "Ow…" The blonde moaned in pain before quickly snapping to attention: _what if someone saw her?_

"Are you okay?" A fuzzy white puppy asked her before licking her face… well it looked like the puppy was asking her, until two hands picked up the canine up and away. _'Oh it's Inuzuka,' _

"Do you need help?"

Taking the offered hand, the injured hanyou steadily stood up and smiled, "Sorry about that, I was… um… practicing my chakra control on the ceiling when I was… distracted by a light… and then I… fell…" Wow, that came out a lot dumber than she had planned.

"No worries, although that was probably from Tenji-nii-chan and Oba-san's sword training; Shiromaru and I were on our way to watch if you would like to join us. Oh, and I'm Mina, by the way," The purple-haired girl smiled kindly in response before walking off, her canine familiar and the blonde following at her heels.

"Oh, I'm Natsuko," She said, a confused look appearing on her face, "Shouldn't you be wondering why I'm here though?" _Boy… either Mina-san is fast, or I'm more hurt than I thought._

"Hm? No, not really," The Konoha genin said lightly before stopping suddenly, sitting down, and facing the open courtyard where her cousin and aunt were training, "But then again, I _**did**_ find you."

Probably at another time she would have questioned that statement, but at the moment her mind had blanked of everything but- "Beautiful,"- the swords.

She was well taught, pushing on the brink of spoiled whenever she wanted to learn something new, but learning how to use a katana (she couldn't really imagine herself with anything else) had always been beyond her, not because of inability or a lack of interest, but because – to put it simply- she was already a hanyou kunoichi and there were few (if any) kendo masters who were willing to add to her increasing arsenal. But despite the lack of knowledge she still appreciated the art.

And before she knew it, two hours had passed. The mother and son had begun to cool down, practicing simple swings rather than their earlier sparring. Natsuko felt hungry, she was convinced it was for knowledge rather than the fact that she hadn't eaten in a day. She had gone for longer before… but the Hyuuga Clan Head's daughter had decided that the hanyou was her responsibility as a good hostess.

"But I- I wanted to watch some more," The blonde girl complained, her growling stomach protested immediately to her words.

"Natsuko-chan, you are my guest and it would be rude of me not to feed you," Mina admonished, her puppy nodding in agreement from her shoulder.

"But I-"

"And plus," Natsuko jumped as a hand suddenly clamped down on her shoulder, "Tenji and I have already finished, why don't we all have dinner then."

The hanyou nodded; a sheepish smile on her face as she was led to the dining room. Tenten looked the same as ever, if a bit taller and older, she hadn't become a legendary kunoichi like Tsunade, but Natsuko blamed it on the fact that Konoha had closed itself off from the world. Tenji took after his mother: brown hair, slightly tanned skin, mouth not in a permanent scowl… but his mother certainly wasn't still flushed from the exercise. Although the blush could've been from something else, nothing stuck in Natsuko's mind.

"You seem to be very interested in my son's sword training," The pink-clad ANBU captain casually said as the group was being served, testing to see the reason.

"Oh yes," Natsuko replied earnestly, "I've always been fascinated but I've never had a teacher," She smiled brightly, glad to be in a familiar situation: At dinner talking about weapons… normal.

"Is that so?" _Good response, and not a hint demonic superiority,_ Tenten mused "And why is that?"

"Well, I've discovered from my travels with Ji-sama, Ba-sama, and Shizune-nee-chan that very few formal kendo teachers are willing to give their secrets away to ninja," _A little show-offy but probably deserved if she is referring to the Sannin. _"Although that didn't stop some of my friends,"

"Friends?" _Friends? Demons have friends?_

"Oh, well, some of them are in the Exam… I'm sure you probably know about them. Like…" Scrounging around in her head for an example, the blonde suddenly struck gold, "Ryuuzaki Kurogane from Kusa… well, he was formally taught by a samurai daimyo guard but then he later taught his teammate Shidou Syaoran and Syaoran-san is very skilled as a result… Ulrich Stern though, from Yuki, is self-taught and because of this he is unpredictable in battle, if a bit unorthodox… and Kuwabara Kazuma! He's not much for technique but his specialty is his _**Rei Ken**_… its absolutely _beautiful_ it's a sword completely made out of chakra and… oh… sorry," The blush that settled on her cheeks made her face even redder than usual.

_They are very… informed…_ "And how do you know all of this?" The Konoha kunoichi nodded a quick thanks to the servants as they left, before turning back to stare at the out of place hanyou.

"Well, they're my friends… they _told _me… well, more like Kuwabara-san tried to impress me, which he did," Natsuko grinned at that particular spar, never had she been so utterly surprised when a blade had appeared out of the gruff Taki nin's open palm. She had never been so close to decapitation, either. "Well, enough about me… how about you two," Looking pointedly at the two previously ignored Hyuuga cousins, "Any cool techniques yourselves?"

And as the two of them practically tripped over each other to talk- "Shiromaru and I are both learning Inuzuka jutsu," and "I've been trying to use weapons with the Jyuuken,"- Natsuko smile grew even wider. Getting info out of the Leaves was so _easy_.

* * *

"If you value having all four appendages, you will tell me where she is NOW!" Getting info out of the Fallen Leaves was so _hard_. Tsunade was on the verge of just blowing this thrice-damned village to smithereens if it meant finding her pseudo-granddaughter… of course, Shizune wouldn't let her. Luckily (for Konoha, of course), they had been able to track down Naruto and Kyuubi to 'rescue' them… though, now that she saw Shizune and 'Kyuu' plow through the door, angry looks on their faces she remembered… Ebisu had _never_ been a very lucky man.

"Where is Natsuko-chan?" Shizune's usually sweet demeanor was completely ruined by the dozens of senbon she had pointed at the less skilled jounin… his knees were shaking as he stammered out an obviously false ignorance… of course the Kyuubi wasn't helping that particular situation.

"_**PUNY MAGGOT! YOU WILL SUFFER A THOUSAND HELLS IF YOU DO NOT TELL ME THE WHEREABOUTS OF MY**_-" Tsunade gave a swift kick, which the demon avoided but managed to remind him what to say anyways, "… teammate…" Of course, the red-head might've stopped his thunderous growling, but the youkai floating around the room was still threatening anyways.

_Ooh… a new target… _Tsunade sadistically cooed in her mind as 'the Hokage' teleported into the room, and immediately paled at the sight of three (_oh, wait, now with Naruto and Jiraiya it's five_) stronger ninja. "_Hokage-sama,"_ The busty blonde sneered mockingly at Konohamaru's undeserved title,"You have put yourself in a dangerous, _deadly_ predicament," Tsunade strode forward, placing her hands on the desk that had been hers so long ago, "Kitsune-gakure has entrusted the safety of their genin to us," Gesturing to herself and the two adults behind her, "And we were, in turn, forthcoming when we explained the status of the team before the Chuunin Exam. Do you agree?"

"Yes, of course, Tsunade-sama," The two brunettes could only nod in agreement because, in all fairness, neither of them have lost their limbs yet.

"You do, as Hokage and Hokage's advisor, realize that _kidnapping_ and holding a citizen of another gakure _against their will_ means that it is not at all unreasonable to DECLARE WAR ON THIS THRICE-DAMNED VILLAGE!" She was sure she had used that particular insult _before_… there was no need to be so quiet… oh… maybe it was because the solid Konoha oak wood desk (that had survived five Hokages before) was now splintered beyond recognition. But back to the subject, this was serious.

Tsunade did not give the Leaf nins time to respond, "You had better pray to Kami-sama that we find her unharmed and _happy_, or your struggling forest will soon be nothing but ashes." The five turned and left, there was nothing really that could top that sentence… but they all knew that much, _much _worse would occur to Konoha if Kitsune-Gakure (no, the _world)_ knew what had happened to their princess.

* * *

**A/N: Yay!! I made my deadline!! My birthday!! Hopefully this was enough for the wait… this and the previous chapter were originally supposed to be combined… but apparently that wasn't happening… um, next chapter will be a little later down the timeline… so sorry about the pacing of the story we will get to the next part (eventually)… so yeah, this wraps up the last chapter quite nicely… and I hope it meets up to your guy's standards… personally since Naruto Shippuden has just gone way off from this I was (and am) really worried that I won't finish it… especially since this is so AU and has so many OC's (not to mention a main character that is so close to being a Mary-Sue… yeah I admit it… Natsuko seems too perfect in the story) however I am working on my writing ability so that she seems more realistic and not too overly… perfect… I hope you enjoyed this chapter… please review!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **_**AND**_** (thanks to a reviewer) I do not own any of the Prince of Tennis, Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu Yu Hakusho, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Sailor Moon, Inuyasha, Code Lyoko, and any other cartoon/anime characters I might have borrowed.**

**Summary: It's hard to be a regular person when your father- the greatest ninja in the world- and the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon to ever walk the land, are sealed inside you. Not to mention you're also a hanyou.**

**A/N: Thank you all those people who have reviewed:**

**gaul1**

**Out-Of-Control-Authoress  
**

* * *

The blonde ninja flipped backwards, avoiding the gleaming sword, mouth in a wide grin- sparring was the perfect cure of boredom. The brunette kenjutsu user scowled at the other participant before pulling his sword up to block a series of flying kunai. A distraction- the blonde disappeared from sight, into the foreign terrain of Fire Country forest but the cheerful voice lingered for the two darker haired ninja to hear. "Come on, samurai guy, is that the best you can do?"

The green-clad shinobi rolled his eyes while the blonde chuckled at the 'witty' nickname, "I could do better if you weren't hiding."

"How do you do that anyways?" The dark-haired female asked, eyes scanning the trees around her, "Your clothes aren't exactly the best colors to blend in with these green trees."

"It's a skill, Yumi," Odd said from behind her, purple and magenta arms swinging back and forth in delight, "But I could ask you the same question, after all black isn't good camouflage in Snow Country either. Hey! No cheating!" The blonde boy yelled as Ulrich swung at his head, ducking so that only the very tip of his hair was cut off.

The young swordsman smirked, sheathing his katana and walked closer to his teammates, shooting an annoyed look at the feline boy taking cover behind the kunoichi, "You didn't say we had finished yet, and I barely touched you hair, so stop crying," This time both dark-haired Yuki genin rolled their eyes as Odd wiped away his crocodile tears and blew a raspberry at them.

"How is Natsuko-chan going to take me seriously if Mr. Grumpy here has chopped off the tip of my hair? See? It's no longer pointy!"

And although Yumi and Ulrich rolled their eyes yet again at the blonde's reasoning, they agreed- that's what it was all about, wasn't it? Impressing Natsuko, after all without her, they wouldn't even be here- two years ago they were just civilians. Civilians that were gifted with lightning speed, a wind kekkai genkai, empathic and prophetic abilities, and a natural affinity for genjutsu- Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Jeremie respectively- perfectly normal civilian kids living in Snow Country's capital city.

Then Jeremie found Aelita- a pink-haired girl trapped in a genjutsu too complex for the bespectacled boy to break. He could, however, open it up for his friends to enter in an attempt to snap the connection between the genjutsu and the victim. They ended up in a place called Lyoko, where darkness reigned and they were warriors; they had found the genjutsu victim's inner self and broke her away from the shadows. This resulted in two things: Aelita Schaeffer, an aspiring Yuki-gakure kunoichi, no longer under the genjutsu's control though still not free, was able to tell the at the time civilian preteens what had happened- while on a C-rank mission, her team had been attacked by a ghost-machine demon; their jounin sensei Franz Hopper killed, Elizabeth Delmas severely injured, though as a medic nin in training she had been able to heal herself to escape and get help, Aelita herself trapped in the layered genjutsu, and her last teammate, the body through which XANA was able to commit all those acts, William Dunbar.

The second consequence of the curious quartet's actions was the reawakening of the ghost-machine demon. William Dunbar, despite his unwillingness, _had_ betrayed the team. But he was stronger than XANA had expected, he was able to shake off the possession (of course, after he had committed those dastardly acts) and seal the specter in what he had thought were his ofuda. They were love letters.

But that's far from the point, by awakening Aelita from the genjutsu Jeremie, Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd were also responsible for reanimating the last remaining trace of XANA- the youkai that had kept Aelita in the illusion. And after finally being active, the demon had only two things in mind- destruction and revenge. And the closest human civilization was Snow Country's capital. Chaos ensued.

The ghost-machine demon had used all means at his disposal to destroy the city: fires, monsters created from inanimate objects, diseased animals, short circuiting and exploding electrical appliances- the works. In response Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd did everything in their power to protect the city, undoing XANA's work, while Jeremie and Aelita tried to find a way to end the genjutsu. Aelita had been on the verge of committing seppuku, reasoning that if she died so would the demon's connection to the world of the living, when everything stopped- the fighting, the chaos, the destruction. Four teas of Yuki-gakure ninja, ranked chuunin up, had arrived, oppressing XANA's wrath neater and quicker than the three civilian (albeit gifted) kids.

Then they met Natsuko. And in three seconds she did what Jeremie could not do in months- she had destroyed the genjutsu. "Youkai," she had explained, "can only be stopped by youkai. You," she pointed and lectured the four civilians and one genin, "do not have youkai because you are human. Even if you are a super genius at genjutsu, unless you have demon blood in you there is no way on earth you can stop an illusion created with youkai, no matter how weak."

Jeremie turned red, blushing at the round about compliment and growing angry at her nonchalance towards the demon that had almost destroyed everything. "Weak? You think XANA was weak?" The others glared in shock, they were _exhausted_ and it was over something _weak_?

"Well," The younger blonde blushed, not quite sure how to phrase her answer, her two whiskers glowing with color, "I'm a hanyou, I was born with demon blood. XANA was once human, then died and became a ghost-machine demon thing. I outrank him. Of course, now that I think of it…" She turned her blue gaze on a tired Yumi and Odd, "Had you gathered enough of _your_ chakra you guys might have been able to destroy the genjutsu," She ignored the shocked looks on the bruised and battered preteens, "Telepathy and Wind kekkai genkai for you… Yumi-san, right? Remind me to get you some fans, far more suited weapon for you than tossing around garbage can lids." The dark haired girl blushed, "And for Odd-san, empathy with animals and clairvoyance? Possibly a small trace of neko blood… or saru, they're always good at predicting the future…"

The ten-year old muttered, oblivious to the confused looks on her audience's faces, before remembering her point, "Oh… that means that Yumi-san and Odd-san have spirit blood. Which, while not as strong as demon blood, can sometimes overpower youkai… it's a very confusing balance. Although I am surprised Aelita-san couldn't break it herself, you have an Earth kekkai genkai don't you? Then again you two might have destroyed Aelita-san along with the genjutsu, so perhaps it's for the best that you didn't…"

Natsuko mused to herself, pacing back and forth as the seated group just stared at each other and her in wonder, until one of the Yuki-gakure nins appeared next to the blonde girl- surprising the four civilians, but not gaining the attention of the hanyou until he physically stopped her pacing with a hand on her head. "Oh, what is it?" Embarrassment was clear on the man's face; which would have amused Natsuko to no end otherwise- a chuunin twice her height reporting to the short blonde kunoichi- if it weren't for the news that he had whispered to her. "They WHAT? Why those… stay here Dunbar-san, I'm going to… ugh!" Natsuko turned around and headed back into the section of the city where the Yuki-nin teams had cornered XANA with various kitsune-provided talismans, "I told them to follow my instructions to the letter! It was probably Morales-san, trying to impress Hertz-san…"

Leaving one sheepish twenty year old chuunin, one shocked preteen kunoichi, and four glaring, gifted civilians unsupervised. "William?" The pink-haired girl asked, face pale and hands shaking as if she had seen a ghost. Which she had, but that's not what was causing it.

"Hello… Aelita," The Yuki chuunin smiled, so similar to how he used to in the past that the genjutsu victim gasped. This spurred the four civilians, tired as they were, to form a defensive circle around said girl. "You've got quite the team protecting you there," His voice was honestly regretful, but the guardians did not relent in their glares, "I'm sorry… Elizabeth and I… it had been so long and we couldn't find you… we had assumed you were… hold on, Elizabeth will want to see you again," Dunbar summoned a small black flying manta ray and sent it off to find his last remaining teammate, "She's head of the hospital in Yuki-gakure, you know," He said proudly, in an attempt to put the five youths on the ground at ease, but four continued their mistrusting gazes.

Not one to begrudge others, and genuinely interested in the girl that had freed her, Aelita asked, "That blonde Yuki-nin, who is she?" Odd and Yumi looked interested also- wondering who she was that could so easily reveal their long hidden secret gifts and put a name to them- and despite Jeremie and Ulrich's bored faces she knew they were listening for the answer, too.

"Ah, Natsuko-san? Mysterious little girl isn't she? She's not a Yuki-nin, though. Came breezing through Yuki-gakure one day, special pass signed by Queen Koyuki herself, started training like mad. Apparently she's the daughter of Uzumaki Naruto," Eyes widened, despite not being ninja they _knew_ that name- it was in their history text books, the boy who had single-handedly defeated the dictator Doto Kazahana and restored the throne to the proper monarch, Queen Koyuki. The chuunin continued on, though, "Of course, turns out she's also an expert on demons- she came at the right time, too. If she hadn't been in Yuki-gakure, probably the entire capital would've fallen prey to XANA, she was the one that had sensed the youkai… better than I could do, considering I've been _possessed_ by the damn demon, too." Ah, the glaring was up again, why had he brought that topic back up?

"What do you want, Dunbar?" A cold voice said before a pink-clad medic nin appeared next to, but not too close to, said man, the black flying manta floating serenely overhead.

"Elizabeth?"

"I thought I told everyone to call me…" The black-haired woman, face twisted in anger- at Dunbar, at herself, at the ghost-machine demon, long contained bitter anger- turned at the name she had dropped so long ago, seeing her teammate she thought she had lost so long ago, "Aelita?"

The pink-haired girl smiled at the pink-clad woman, standing so that their height wasn't so vastly different, "But that's my name, Elizabeth," She teased, reaching a hand out to her now grown up friend.

"Call me Sissy, I was a coward; I should have never left you." The medic-nin held the offered hand, silently pleading for forgiveness.

"No, I'll you Sissy… because you are still my team-sister," The two pink-clad Yuki kunoichi smiled at each other, tears forming in their eyes. The others watched in guilt- guilt at being the cause of this pain and guilt at watching such a personal moment.

"That idiot! I totally knew it!" And the moment was ended, a certain blonde hanyou storming over and getting the others attention, "Ah, sorry to interrupt you. I see your team has reunited; congratulations. Though now I have to put you to work. Dunbar-san, I'll need you to take charge for now- finish clean up and write two reports, one for me one for Yukikage-sama, you know which one should be demon-free. Delmas-san, complete your rounds- I don't want to see a single scratch on anyone," The two adults nodded in obedience before blurring away, leaving the six preteens alone.

"All of you did good work" She beamed at them, and they felt proud even though it was their fault XANA had been unleashed. Natsuko then summoned a rather… blue… fox, "Now, me and Glaceon have to go find a demon that has no scent and doesn't leave tracks."

"He's three kilometers northwest and still going," Aelita automatically responded, causing the younger girl to pause and turn around, "I can sense him, somehow… I don't know," Her brow furrowed in worry, she couldn't explain.

"I take it you don't come from a clan of everlasting youth people?" Natsuko smiled at the others' confusion, "There's a reason why you didn't age when you were under the genjutsu… when demons place a genjutsu on a person they want the illusion to last forever, if a person were to snap out of it from something as simple as hunger pains or well, _die_, then it's simply not worth it… XANA was crazy, so we'll ignore him for now, but usually if a demon puts you in a genjutsu rather than killing you outright there's a reason they kept you alive. Of course," She smiled reassuringly, "not all demons are killing monsters, but there's a certain reason for why we do or don't do certain things,"

They continued to look at her in confusion.

"Ah, well, my point was that his youkai was what sustained you for so many years, so you probably still have trace amounts of it or you're hyper-sensitive to it. Which means you're probably better off finding him than I am… but not better prepared for fighting him, ugh… I'm supposed to go back home soon, who knows how long this'll take…" The blonde muttered to herself, before exclaiming to the group, "I'll train you five to be a super awesome XANA hunting team! Excellent, alright, well then… you five come with me!" She turned around and walked, the pink-haired kunoichi instinctively following orders, the four civilians looked at each other and shrugged, they had nothing better to do.

"Where are we going?" Odd, who had been unusually quiet before, asked, skipping to keep up with the shorter and faster walking blonde.

"You guys want to be ninja, right?" The hanyou turned and paused, as did the pink-haired already kunoichi, watching for their reactions. Odd cheered happily, arm pumped into the air, Yumi and Ulrich shared the same expression, nodding and biting back a smile so that they wouldn't seem too eager, and Jeremie mumbled the pros and cons to himself though already agreeing by looking Aelita straight in the eyes. "Well then," a near-sadistic smirk blooming on her face, "I have three weeks to train you up into super ninja and super XANA hunters! First lesson: endurance. Run to Yuki-gakure or Glaceon here will start attacking you with icicles! Now start running, rookies!" The newly proclaimed 'rookies' then wondered if it was possible to reconsider their answers, before getting pricked by the arctic-fox's attack. Damn, they would just have to get back at their new sensei later.

They never did. But true to her word, Natsuko had trained them up to genin level in three weeks (not that they needed much help). Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd formed one team, with jounin-sensei Jim Morales. When he discovered this… well…

"_I don't want to babysit a bunch of brats trained by an even younger brat!" _

"_I heard that! Don't think that I forgot whose fault it was that XANA escaped!" _

"_But… I…" _

"_And imagine what Hertz-san will think, how sensitive and responsible you are…" _

"_Well…"_

"_And plus, I'll be back in a month or so… you can handle that can't you?"_

"_Um…"_

"_Very good! Ulrich and Yumi, make sure Odd doesn't do anything stupid-"_

"_Hey! I don't-"_

"_Don't be too harsh on Morales-san! I'll see you all in a month, you guys better be proper XANA hunters by the time I get back. Oh, and here, he's a baby Glaceon so he can't do too many attacks, but just in case you do stumble on XANA while I'm away he can alert me if you need help and use small amounts of youkai to throw off XANA's genjutsu."_

"_What's his name?"_

"_Oh, well, how about you name him, Ulrich?"_

"_I don't really think-"_

"_I'll name him Kiwi!"_

"_Odd! Ulrich was supposed to name him!"_

"_Oh come one, Yumi, like he was actually going to name him. And doesn't he just look like a Kiwi?"_

"_No."_

"_GUYS, YOUR REALLY SUPER AWESOME HANYOU SENSEI IS LEAVING NOW!"_

"_Oh… right… bye Natsuko."_

"_See you."_

"_Come back soon Natsuko-chan!"_

… it wasn't really something that could be changed.

She left. They trained… and trained… and trained. Surprisingly Morales-sensei was a good teacher. The team had discovered that Morales-sensei (or Jimbo as they liked to call him), despite being the cause of XANA's escape _was_ actually worthy of the jounin title- he was a master taijutsu, mostly in the form of Pencak Silat, and knew an astonishing amount of ninjutsu and could use pretty much anything as a weapon. Ulrich went on to discover that he was naturally skilled with katana and just about any type of Bunshin jutsu. Yumi did actually receive her fans and training with them, though she was still pretty good with garbage can lids. Odd, not much of a surprise, found out that he was actually part bakeneko and as such could gain ears, tail, and claws at will; and he was definitely no slouch when it came to kunai throwing and arrow shooting- _"You're supposed to use a bow for these things?"_

As for Jeremie and Aelita? Well… despite the fact that Jeremie could defeat Yuki-gakure's genjutsu specialist in their own mastery, he was absolute rubbish when it came to taijutsu and ninjutsu. Though Jeremie was pretty accurate at weaponry (as Odd could attest to when he had 'accidentally' stole all of the genius' kangaroo underwear and rigged it for the entire Academy to see) and had very good chakra control. He was still getting training for his two weaknesses.

For Aelita, perhaps she made the biggest change of all. For one thing, she could no longer be Aelita Schaeffer as technically she had died eight years ago, and instead had to take the name of Lyoko- she didn't mind, it would always remind her of her friends as the Lyoko warriors. And although before she had been training to be a genjutsu specialist, now she was pursuing mastery in ninjutsu- already having her Earth kekkai genkai and, one of the positive side affects of XANA's youkai, a contrasting affinity for lightning jutsu- despite her Sissy's insistence on her education as a medic nin.

Oh… and they defeated XANA. He had attempted to take control of Snow Country's generator that had 'awakened' spring so long ago. Instead of melting the snow, he was going to blow up the capital. He was stopped, obviously… so problem solved.

By the time Natsuko returned, there wasn't much she could do for them without imparting jutsu entrusted to her from other villages. And as she could no longer learn anything more from Yuki-gakure, the hanyou was forced to leave her prodigies behind:

"_Don't worry, I'll visit… probably… and I'll definitely be in the Chuunin Exam in a few years… as soon as I get my third whisker. Um… well, Kiwi can alert me if you… ugh… I'm horrible at good-byes… will you just give me a group-hug already before I start crying?"_

And though they hadn't seen her after that, up until the first part of the Chuunin Exam, Natsuko would often send messages through the young Glaceon and Yuki-gakure's information network often brought news of their blonde teacher.

"Jimbo's coming," Yumi said calmly, before tripping Odd who fell to the ground and pushing Ulrich to a tree with one of her feet, "And I win," The two boys spluttered in indignation and embarrassment, until their heavy-set sensei came.

"She's right, you know, boys," More spluttering, "The two of you were so concentrated on each other that you ignored Yumi, here. If this were a real battle situation, and you had been so engrossed in fighting one enemy you might completely overlook another enemy who will probably kill you. Now," The red-clad jounin lectured in a deep voice, "Everyone run around this forest twenty times- we're building endurance!"

The three teenagers groaned as Odd got to his feet. Was it still too late to reconsider their answers?

"Come on now, brats, move it!"

Probably…

"Hey, what do you think Natsuko-chan's doing?"

"Probably something better than this…"

* * *

"I'm still not entirely sure why we're doing this…" A confused Natsuko, slightly but not completely healed after a week of pampered rest, trailed off. Both of her arms were held in the Hyuuga cousins' grip as they dragged her away from the Hyuuga Compound. Clad in a spare white set of servant clothes, her own vibrant outfit still being repaired from her sporadic wounds, it looked like the pair of Hyuuga heirs were escorting a maid instead of the other way around.

"Because, Natsuko-chan," Mina reasoned sweetly through gritted teeth as she tugged on the unwilling kunoichi, her four-legged counterpart doing the same, "You're a guest in Konoha, yet you haven't seen the sights!"

After her embarrassing "fangirl-ing" over Tenji's sword practice, everyone seemed to open up to the charismatic blonde. Tenten stopped glaring at her suspiciously and, at Natsuko's enthusiasm, allowed her to watch more swordplay between mother and son. Mina had become more determined to be a good hostess and she soon grew accustomed to calling the hanyou 'Natsuko-chan', as if they had been childhood friends... and Tenji? Well, let's just say he could give his aunt's teenaged behavior a run for its money.

"I'm sorry, Mina-san, not everyone has the Byakugan," Chuckling at her own pun, Natsuko failed to notice as the wooden walls of the Hyuuga Compound disappeared and the business stands of 'downtown' Konoha surrounded the three teens.

"A- and plus, Kurama-san, there's more to Konoha than just the Chuunin Exam." Tenji and Mina ignored the rather cheesy attempt at a joke, as they continued to bring the reluctant blonde towards the pride and joy of Konoha: Hokage Mountain.

"Kurama? Wh- oh, right, that's me! Kurama…" It felt like the strength had been zapped out of her as she thought of her green-eyed kitsune friend; and while it did make it easier for the Hyuuga cousins to tow Natsuko around their village, it made her feel a slight gnawing in her chest (from guilt, not because she had a demon inside of her).

Kurama… it had nearly broken her heart the way he tried to get on the team… only to be shot down by Shippou-jii-sama. It wasn't that he couldn't hold his own against Konoha genin but…

"_At the moment, he is more of liability than assistance." _Shippou-jii-sama certainly didn't pull any punches.

Kurama _had_ tried to get stronger, with the Inugami incident in particular as his motivation, but while he had managed to push himself to two tails (the first to reach that level before being at least a century old) he still had a ways to go. He had even managed to gain his first mastery over a Divine Element, which was much more than Natsuko could say for herself, and surprisingly it was, of all the elements available to him, that of Plant- the trickiest, and wisest of all. It was ironic how he still burned his hands when using Fire attacks, especially when kitsune were supposed to be gifted with the flames.

Although, it was probably _because_ of the Inugami incident that he had earned his mastery over Plant. Her own clumsy Divine Attack was what had saved their lives; Kurama had probably been inspired to see just what else Divine Plant could do. After all, if a beginner could fend off two demon assassins, and according to human legend the Shodai Hokage was able to build Konoha in one night, imagine what a _true_ master- one who wasn't inhibited by humanity- could do.

Speaking of the ninja village… it was… cluttered in comparison to her expectations. Mina-san had been right; Natsuko _hadn't_ been able to look around the gakure much since she had come here. Of course, the Chuunin Exams and showing up an evil village was more important, but very rarely was she in a new place- those hi-tech civilian towns not included- and startled by what she saw. In her memories- her _father's_ memories- Konoha had been sparkling and colorful. The people, though cruel and cold-hearted, had been lively and bright. Then again, he was a naive child, optimistic to a fault, and it had been his dream to be loved by the village… so it was no wonder he had perceived it to be a beautiful place. And there was the whole "the entire world has pretty much shunned Konoha" bit… that would explain the rust and dust. Although…

"And this is Hokage Mountain," Mina gestured toward the six faces in front of them as Tenji quickly dropped the foreign kunoichi's arm.

There were some things that reminded her of home…

"Every time we have a Hokage, their faces are carved onto the mountain- to remember their strength, their sacrifices, and their love for the village. They watch over Konoha, and remind us of who and what we are, and what we can become," The purple-haired girl spoke in a somber tone, her familiar standing at attention at her side, her presence commanding respect from her brunette cousin and blonde guest. There was something about seeing the Hokage Mountain that made people stand a little straighter… hold their head up higher… glare angrily at the rock faces harder?

Natsuko's blue eyes scanned the inanimate faces, passing over those that she did not care much for (as in, the Shodai and Nidaime whom neither her father nor she had ever met) before slowing at those she did… or her father did. The Sandaime… was a fond memory of… simpler times- not easier, as a young Naruto had to put up with hatred and persecution from the villagers, but at least he had not been traipsing around the world for strength and eluding his ninja hunters. He was the first to see Naruto as a boy, not the Kyuubi brat nor the Yondaime's legacy- just a young boy with horrible chakra control, an unhealthy obsession with ramen, and underserved raw insatiable loneliness. The third Hokage represented one of the few fears that had stayed with Naruto through the years: would Sandaime-ojiji be proud of him? Of course, in Natsuko's opinion, the Sandaime should already be proud of him for not destroying Konoha with all the abuse that had been piled on him… but as a sacrifice to Shinigami-sama, no one would be able to find out what he truly felt.

Then there was both the Sandaime's successor and predecessor: the Yondaime. Obviously, there was some conflict in her opinion of the man long gone. He had been a great ninja, one that had single-handedly defeated enemy armies as the "Yellow Flash" and had made quite the name for himself as a genius jounin, creating many original jutsu- far more than the Rasengan and the Hiraishin. He had been a powerful and just Hokage and he had protected his village from the strongest demon ever to walk the land. Natsuko's grandfather was worthy of respect- both of them were: Kyuubi no Youko, her mother Ichiko-hime's father… and Namikaze Minato, her father Uzumaki Naruto's father. While she knew her existence was based completely off of the Yondaime's act in the face of Kyuubi-sama's rampage it caused so much heartache for her father- denied the simple right of childhood itself- that she really didn't know what to feel. It was clashing at best… insanity-inducing at worst. She had long since made a decision on the spiky-haired blonde Hokage- she would reserve judgment until new evidence tipped the scales.

Then followed her Ba-sama, the Godaime. Although through her father's memories she knew that the older cynical blonde had indeed been Hokage, albeit it reluctantly, for some reason Natsuko just could not wrap her head around the fact that Tsunade had once… **tolerated** this -sama could hardly say the **name** without a scowl and a smashed object nearby, how could she have stood to protect it? And after was… ugh… the "Rokudaime" himself. _Hardly, __**I**__ could probably defeat him in battle… and he makes the mountain look ugly… and stupid._ Such was Natsuko's immense maturity.

"Ah, well," Noticing her intense stare focused on the sixth face of the mountain, Tenji attempted to explain, "Um… its not usually painted. It seems that- well, obviously, as it isn't all that flattering… not that I'm saying you can't notice obvious things… just, you know… if you were um, curious? Um… never mind," The brunette mumbled the ending, cheeks suddenly warm and eyes pasted to a particularly interesting scuff in his shoe. It was much prettier than the Rokudaime's rocky visage at the moment. Rather than the basic brown carving, the mountain had been painted rather… unflatteringly: that of a very ugly, overly made up, fat woman- inspired by Konohamaru's long, long ago attempts at one particular Sexy no jutsu.

"What Tenji-nii is trying to say, is that someone has recently been targeting our Rokudaime for pranks, nothing harmful, just very… flamboyant," Mina smiled politely before turning the blonde around with their linked arms, "Which reminds me, we really ought to show you the Hokage Tower… it's quite nice, really; tallest building in the village and directly in the center…" They were headed back into the crowd that was Konoha, the white puppy and green-clad genin on their trail.

The hanyou had to stifle a groan. Honestly, Natsuko **did** like the Inuzuka girl… but she couldn't remember signing up for a village tour.

* * *

From far away they did look quite stunning. Despite the somewhat odd coloring of the Konoha citizens, they had very few blondes and redheads. Yes, there was the Yamanaka family, though not quite to the extent of bright, sunny yellow as the foreign genin pacing on the inn roof. And though half of the Uchiha 'Clan' had pink hair, it was nowhere near the fire red of the other Kitsune shinobi sitting not too far from his companion. And their similarly bright clothing choices of oranges, reds, and yellows did not help them blend in with the primarily earth-tone ninja populous of Konoha.

But despite the seemingly cheerful colors of their hair and clothing, the two males were anything but. One, the blonde pacing one, had a stormy expression of frustration, confusion, regret, and most importantly: worry. His teeth were gnawing at his lower lip, brows furrowed, eyes glued to the floor. The other's face, narrow and defined for his supposed age, was in a cold composed mask, gold eyes closed and breathing steady- besides that crease in his forehead it would seem as if he were sleeping. Oh… and the daunting waves of youkai he was giving off- ignore that too.

The pair of boys maintained their silence, brooding in their own unique ways, until the blue-eyed one suddenly yelled in frustration, whipping out kunai after kunai and shuriken after shuriken at the building next door, making a perfect spiral out of the imbedded weapons in the wall. Afterwards, due to the combination of screaming and target practice, the blonde was breathing heavily from physical exertion, shoulders rising and lowering.

"That's not going to help," Long canines were revealed as the redhead spoke, standing up out of his meditative pose, eyes darting around, "But if you were trying to call her, she probably heard that," Stretching a clawed hand towards his teammate's personal target, he invoked his mastery of Divine Earth, willing the metal weapons to come back to him. They made it about halfway, plucking themselves from the wall and floating in the air before sluggishly dropping to the inn roof. "Natsuko's blood is quite strong for someone barely above a decade of life," Kyuubi mused to himself, before turning to the blue-eyed blonde. "Were you trying to say something?"

Naruto shot a half-hearted glare in the demon's direction, gathering the mountain of kunai and shuriken back into the pouches at his side, before his face dropped back into that lonely mask of regret, "I promised myself I would be a better father, and the first thing I do? I lose my daughter! And I can't even find… I don't even know where…" He growled in anger, self-frustration, "I can't do anything! No matter what we try, we can't… I _can't_ _find_ her!"

"We could always destroy ourselves," Golden eyes turned serious, staring into the blue eyes of his once jailor, "Destroy these bodies, and we would revert back into our spirit forms. Then we would seek our original container and be sent back to Natsuko," Kyuubi glared at the boy who was honestly considering that idea, "Do you remember how she created these bodies in the first place? Do you remember how much blood she had to spill to create these clones? Do you remember how weak she was, how very close to death she was from the blood loss?" The kitsune growled, accusingly asked, "Would you put her through that again?"

"No! Never! As soon as we get to her, we would help her escape and get the hell out of here, it's not safe… I should've never allowed her to come here. It's too danger-" Touru, Naruto, exclaimed before being interrupted by the other blood clone.

"She is a ninja; danger is part of her lifestyle. She is a hanyou; danger runs through her blood. She is your daughter and my granddaughter; danger is her very existence. She knows this, I know this, and you _knew _this. So why the change?" Kyuubi resumed his original meditative position, motioning to the spot next to him; it was one of those _discussion_ things. As if Naruto were a teenager all over again.

"I'm a shitty father…" The blonde sighed, flopping down next to the more sophisticated boy. Silence. "You're supposed to disagree, you jerk."

"I was waiting for you to continue your statement. You have yet to answer my question." A red eyebrow lifted, a golden eye looked questioningly at the blue-eyed blood clone.

"I just realized it, you know? Coming here… using my own daughter to get revenge on this place… I'm no better than Sasuke-teme," A shaky an hand brushed through yellow-orange locks, "Did you know he's a dad too? Well, of course you know… but the whole thing just kind of hit me, like a sucker punch or something. I mean, you remember his dream when Team 7 first formed? 'I want to kill a certain man and revive my clan'- damn moody bastard… but what I'm trying to say is… he has a _family_." The kitsune stared at the man-turned-boy, analyzing his teammate's emotions, "Sure its not a full _clan_ and it's not the same family he had before… but he fulfilled his 'ambition'. And well, what did I do? What have I done?"

"You became the strongest ninja in history-"

"But never Hokage-"

"You're loved and respected by many people around the world-"

"But nobody in Konoha-"

"You have a family-"

"That's either dead or missing-"

"Natsuko's alive you imbecile!" A loud smack was heard, Naruto's cheek turned red, and Kyuubi's hand was still held up in the air, "She's a living, capable kunoichi. She has her own opinion and wants. If she hadn't wanted to be here she would have said something. You can't just go around comparing her to some heartless maggot's offspring… have faith in her. That is what will make you a good father, not this unnecessary mollycoddling."

"What?"

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Anger was quickly forming; perhaps another slap would get it through the blonde's thick skull.

"No, no, but-" The boy couldn't suppress a snort, "_Mollycoddling? _The almighty Kyuubi no Kitsune used the word _mollycoddling_?" It really wasn't all that funny, but Naruto gave up to the fit of laughter. He laughed until his sides hurt and tears were leaking out of his eyes, Kyuubi faked annoyance though his eyes shone with understanding. The blonde shinobi was able to catch his breath, and grew quiet, "I'm a pretty bad father, huh?"

"I wasn't either, nor am I a particularly good grandfather." The redhead admitted, slowing his breathing into an even, calm rhythm.

"You're a crappy father-in-law, too," Naruto replied cheekily, before quickly standing up and sprinting to the inn room.

"Calm down, Kyuubi, decapitating him would just prove his point." The demon muttered to himself, though a smile was on his face. They may not be the best of fathers, nor the best hunters (tough it did sting his ego a bit) what with not being able to find their [grand] daughter, but they were definitely making progress in the parenting side of life.

* * *

**A/N: Okay... so this chapter took an unexpected turn... I had planned the Yuki part to be a LOT smaller, and instead of one big foreign thing I was going to have a lot of smaller ones (they'll probably show up in other chapters) but I kind of liked the way it turned out... so... er... deal with it! (Oh gosh I'm so sorry!) Yeah, just a brief 'what are they doing'... ugh I really want to get to the second part of the exam already but honestly at the rate I'm goin, and with how often I'm getting distracted... ugh... wait no! DOn't abandon me... yeah... but honestly, Second Taile is taking a really weird path... I'm pretty sure it'll be a while before I can even consider the sequel (which I did NOT just say... I'm pretty tired, so this may sound a bit rambly).. well I hope you enjoyed even if the Code Lyoko part makes it seem like its a Code Lyoko AU fanfiction instead of a Naruto fanfiction, but oh well... um please review... and GIVE ME DIRECTION IN MY LIFE!! (hehe... please?)  
**


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